Triptych from Saint Catherine’s monastery at Sinai – an unknown work of old Serbian icon painting

Abstract

A triptych with Slavic inscriptions from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, composed of icons depicting St. Stephen, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas, is published in the paper. Based on the stylistic analysis and consideration of iconographic features, the opinion is expressed that it is a work of Serbian medieval painting. In addition, such an attribution is explained through the light of intensive and continuous contacts between the medieval Serbian lands and the famous monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. Finally, a possibility is opened for the interpretation of the work in question in connection with certain, very interesting source material about the ktetorial activity of the Serbian rulers in Sinai.

Keywords

• st. catherine‘s monastery in sinai
• serbian medieval art
• icon
• triptych
• st. stephen
• 14th century