On the fringe. The painted ornament of the Holy Tinity chapel at Koutsovendēs, Cyprus

Abstract

The paper explores the painted ornament of the Holy Trinity chapel at the monastery of Saint John Chrysostom Koutsovendēs in Cyprus, founded by Eumathios Philokalēs (ca. 1100). When compared to that of other early Komnenian monuments on the island, the painted ornament at Holy Trinity stands out for its intricacy, diversity, and high-quality of execution, while its sophistication is demonstrated to be in keeping with the ambitious and erudite character of the painted ensemble as a whole. Not least, rather than being on the fringe, the painted ornament appears to have been fully integrated into the iconographic programme of the chapel, reiterating through metaphor the patron’s hope for salvation.

Keywords

• painted ornament
• disk symbolism
• cross-and-star pattern
• islamic glazed tiles
• early komnenian painting
• koutsovendēs monastery
• byzantine cyprus