Seeking Perfection in the world of art: The artistic path of Father Sophrony

Father Sophrony, Sergei Sakharov (1896-1993), started his life as a painter. He then became a monk, priest, spiritual director. He founded his own monastery and began to paint icons. The latter part of his life is well known, but his artistic path is still mainly unknown. The present book is an attempt to rectify this and to introduce Father Sophrony's artistic vision and understanding."To paint an icon is like writing a poem; one cannot add or take away a single word. In the same way the icon should only contain the necessary, not too little, not too much.""One has to know technique, but one also needs to know art. An icon should be like a 'painting', like a prayer written with beautiful letters.""We should make the faces of the icons attractive, so that the onlooker is able to pray. The icons should be like a trampoline towards eternal life."