University of Dubuque hosts several Icons

A gift to the University of Dubuque will decorate the Charles Myers Library. The icons representing the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church are already display. An icon is an artistic image of a religious theme, often the face of Christ.Library Director Joel Samuels says for being anywhere from decades to centuries old, the icons are what a modern artist would call multi-media.Only the head is painted on the wood, the rest of the figure made of metal like gold. Samuels explains the icons were more than works of art. In bygone eras when very few churchgoers could read, they gave the worshipers something to look at and think upon while they prayed.He says they’re small treasures; the icons range from three-by-four inches up to about one foot square. The pieces in the collection date from the 1600s up to this century, and are already on permanent display, free for public viewing, at the University of Dubuque’s library.