Olga Ciardi

Antique 19thC. Italian Florentine Painted Gothic Renaissance Panels Olga Ciardi

circa 1850

Italian painting of Alphonsus Liguori in French Neo-Gothic Frame Italian and French, Late 18th and 19th Century Frame: Height 61cm, width 39cm, depth 6cm Panel: Height 28cm, width 22...

Archangel Saint Michael after an icon from Constantinople of the 14th Century. Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with application of gold leaf Dimens...

Christ with the Angry Gaze (The Savior of the Burning Gaze), after a Russian icon from the mid-17th century Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24...

The Archangel Michael (after the one by Rubliev in the Tretyakov Gallery-Moscow). This icon is an original work by the Viennese iconographer Oliver Samsinger. According to the artis...

Christ, the Great High Priest. Greek-Italian style Icon with silver filigreed oklad. Egg tempera, over gesso on wood with a silver cover, "oklad", with pol...

Virgin of the Sign (Orans), with the Christ Child Emmanuel and Cherubim Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24-karat gold leaf application. Dimens...

Christ Pantocrator (Closed Book) – Byzantine Icon, Egg Tempera & 24K Gold Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24‑karat gold leaf. Dimensions: 43...

Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem. Egg tempera on gesso and over a wooden board. Dimensions in centimeters: 42 x 34 x 2 cm / In inches: 16.54 x 13-39 x 0-79 " Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Panagia Paramythia (Mother of Consolation) Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24‑karat gold leaf. Dimensions: 37 × 31 × 2.5 cm. Description of...

Icon of THE KORSUN VIRGIN (KORSUNSKAYA), egg tempera, and gold leave on gesso, over a piece of wood. Dimensions: (H) 26.5 x (W) 23.5 x (D) 3 cm. Also called The Holy Virgin of Tenderness, represents the Mother of God and infant Christ in a tender cheek-to-cheek embrace. The Virgin's hands tenderly surround the head and hands of the Child Jesus while he takes the cloak of the Mother of God with his left hand and plays with the fingers of his right hand, between his mother's neck and his own. Two very old icons, from the 12th and 13th Centuries, painted on the same theme, are respectively in the Uspenskii Cathedral in Moscow and in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterward, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold. Now, the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...