Icon painting

Icon painting is a craft closely connected with Orthodox Christianity, in which images are created in accordance with a strict canon. Bulgarian icon painting was strongly influenced by Byzantine art. During the Bulgarian National Revival in the 18th–19th centuries, it made considerable advances.
During the five centuries of Ottoman rule, icon painting became an integral part of the means by which Bulgarians preserved their national consciousness. Icons often depicted Bulgarian tsars to keep their memory and the Bulgarian spirit alive. Until the National Revival, icon painters were often religious figures, but this tendency changed after that period.
Among the best-known Bulgarian icon painters were Zahari Zograf (1810–1853) and his nephew Stanislav Dospevski (1823–1878), representatives of the Samokov school of art. Their works remain a significant contribution to the Bulgarian artistic tradition and are recognised throughout the Orthodox world.