Configurator
Request your icon
An icon is not invented: it is written according to the canons of Tradition, and it takes its time. Here you can indicate the subject, the size and the language of the inscriptions, and see, stage by stage, how many hours of work and how many days of rest it needs to be made according to tradition.
Indicate subject, size and language of the inscriptions, within the canon: you will see how much time each stage of an icon made to the highest standard requires. No prices: a sacred icon is not sold, it is accompanied by an offering proportionate to the time and materials of its making.
Every stage documented
During the work every stage is photographed and the time spent is recorded: from the raw panel to the gesso, from the drawing to the gold, from the first dark colours to the last lights, up to the olifa. You will receive this documentation together with the icon: it is the story of its birth, and proof of work done by hand.
The booklet and the parchment certificate
Every icon comes with a booklet written for it, telling its subject, symbolism and making, and a certificate of authenticity on real parchment. Together with the photographs of each stage, they are the documents that will accompany the icon for the generations who keep it.
Why you will find no prices
A commissioned icon is not sold in the commercial sense of the word: it is a sacred image. The iconographer is not simply an artist but an instrument at the service of the Spirit, working in prayer, fasting and silence; every material gesture (choosing the wood, laying the gesso, gilding, the pigments of the earth) is a sign of the transfiguration of matter and of the whole creation. It is a mystical action, not a production.
To price an icon like merchandise would be a sacrilege. Just as the Holy Mass is not bought but accompanied by an offering, so it is with the icon.
When an image becomes an icon
The incision
The line incised into the gesso to trace the contours is the beginning of an ascetic and liturgical path. It is not yet the moment when the icon becomes a presence.
The Name
In Orthodox theology, grounded in the Second Council of Nicaea, the image is bound to its prototype (Christ, the Mother of God, a saint) when its Name is written, such as IC XC for Jesus Christ. Without the Name it would remain a silent portrait.
The consecration
The icon fully becomes a presence and a channel of grace when it is brought into church, placed on the altar and blessed by the priest with the prayers of the rite and holy water, in some traditions also anointed with Holy Chrism. From that moment it is no longer an art object but a window onto the Absolute.
Sacred for ever
Once consecrated and inscribed with the Name, the icon is a sacred object and can no longer be put to profane use. Even when time wears it away beyond recognition, Orthodox tradition does not allow it to be thrown away: it is burned, because fire purifies, or buried where no one walks, with the same respect owed to the body of the departed.
An offering proportionate to time and materials
When you commission an icon, you are in truth entrusting the iconographer with time, the hours of work and prayer needed for the work to be born, and the precious materials it requires: 23¾ karat gold, natural pigments, a gessoed panel. For this reason one makes an offering according to one's means, proportionate to the time and materials the work requires. The timings on this page help you understand it.
In old Russia the work of the great iconographers was held in the highest esteem: it is said that for his icon of the Holy Trinity Andrei Rublev was given an entire village, with its inhabitants, as a token of gratitude.
The word of the Gospel holds true for the iconographer: «the labourer is worthy of his hire» (Luke 10:7). A fair offering allows the iconographer to live with dignity the ministry to which they have been called, and to keep giving new icons to the Church and to families.
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Frequently asked questions
Are the times shown final?
No, they are estimates for an icon made according to tradition. Final timing is agreed with Concetta based on the subject and the atelier's schedule.
Does the website store my data?
No. The configurator runs on your device: you send the summary yourself via WhatsApp or Telegram. The website neither collects nor stores personal data; only your chosen configuration stays in your browser, so you can find it again as you browse.
Can I change my mind after sending the request?
Of course: the request is only the start of the conversation. Subject, size and finishes are defined together.