The book focuses on the deep yet problematic and contradictory relationship of the icon doctrine with the culture of the early 20th century. The emergence of modern icons becomes a significant expression of the renaissance of mysticism in the art, science, and philosophy of the time, often articulated as a debate about the visibility of the invisible. Against this backdrop, the author analyzes the work of Hugo Ball, one of the most extraordinary and refined interpreters of the literary and artistic scene of the time. Ranging from Ball's Dadaist sound works to his partially unpublished articles on psychoanalysis and religion, the book posits that the icon of Christ and the figure of the saint are the common thread in his oeuvre: Ball's cubist costume recalls a Byzantine icon, while other holy figures appear in the Schizophrenic Sonnets in the form of "inverted icons." His most fascinating book, Byzantine Christianity, ultimately seeks to establish a new relationship with holiness through the recurring image of the ladder to heaven, elevating the saint to the new hero of modernity.