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Article: Byzantine craft reborn in Cyprus.(icon painting)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- July 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Andreas stretched out his arms in the semi-darkness. He gestured towards a line of icons that decorated the altar screen, the focus of the church. "Over here is the icon of the Virgin Mary in her lovely purple robes," he said. "She must always be painted in royal purple, it's the colour of emperors and kings." He talked about the figures affectionately, as if they were old friends, his familiarity the result of a lifetime spent studying the complexities of Byzantine iconography: which colours to use, what hand gestures to paint.
Andreas had brought me to this tiny chapel at Cyprus University, in the island's capital Nicosia, to show me where he had started out ...