Icons

Richard Temple offers a short but detailed survey of icon painting, following the form from its beginnings through the nineteenth century and into later periods. The book is richly illustrated, and its images draw on both celebrated panels and many lesser-known examples that are seldom reproduced. Temple's personal and carefully argued account of the main periods and recurring concerns in icon painting gives the book its own character. It serves as a starting point for newcomers to the subject and as a handsome object that collectors and specialists will value.