Press

IKONA Holy Women

18 October 2024 – 19 January 2025

Press conference: Thursday, 17 October 2024, 11 am
Opening: Thursday, 17 October 2024, 7 pm

St. Barbara with four scenes from her life; Russia, 18th century, egg tempera on wood, 80 x 61 cm; Ikonenmuseum Kampen. Photo: Ikonenmuseum Kampen.

Holy women are protagonists in the history of religion, they are rulers, helpers and healers, as well as shapers of their own environments. The exhibition IKONA. Holy Women at the Museum Angewandte Kunst is the first to be dedicated to the diversity of their historical functions, hard-won scope for action and current social significance. The 78 iconic representations of female saints show the plurality of Orthodox cultures from more than six countries. They tell the stories of well-known and lesser-known women from early Christian times to the late 19th century. Their stories raise questions concerning spiritual practice in the context of sacred art, as well as about the tradition of power relations, role models and how they might change.

The icons were mostly created in Russia and Greece, but also in Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Egypt and Bethlehem between the late 15th and 21st century. Exhibiting such a multifaceted spectrum of female holiness in various local traditions and different media at the Museum Angewandte Kunst is possible thanks to the unprecedented collaboration of the three largest icon museums in Western Europe in Kampen (Netherlands), Recklinghausen and Frankfurt am Main and their associated private collections.

The sound installation VIRIDESCENCE, developed especially for IKONA by the composer Raphael Languillat and the soprano Maren Schwier, creates a sonic bridge between the female saints depicted in the exhibition and the Saint Hildegard of Bingen, who formulated the principle of viriditas (greening power).

Curators: Dr. Konstanze Runge in collaboration with Liesbeth van Es and Dr. Lutz Rickelt

Press release
Exhibition Booklet

The exhibition IKONA. Holy Women is on display at the Museum Angewandte Kunst.


Please note that the image material may only be used in conjunction with a report on the exhibition and with the citation of the exhibition title in its entirety.