Excavations in the environs of the late Roman pilgrimage center of St. Menas in northwestern Egyp... more Excavations in the environs of the late Roman pilgrimage center of St. Menas in northwestern Egypt during the late 1960s revealed fragments of wall paintings from the late 6th century AD. They once decorated the interior of a small church, and, in comparison to other contemporary wall paintings in the area, are of a very high artistic quality. The history of decoration and architectural details can be read from these fragments, even though the building itself has in the meantime vanished, and was perhaps destroyed during construction of modern settlements and an airport in the region. Painting techniques, the sequence of decoration steps and division of labour are documented as well, all of them show that here a very well organized workshop was employed. The paintings take a special position in early Christian and early Byzantine art, partially because they show unusual topics that have so far been known only from much later works of art, and partially because of their iconographic relationship to Coptic and Byzantine art. Although we cannot identify the donor of these paintings, we can deduce from his choice of workshop, the funds invested in higher quality paint pigments and the choice of topics and iconography that he was a financially and socially well situated person.
sections B.II, C.II and D.II of the lemma "Pfau" in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum XXVII ... more sections B.II, C.II and D.II of the lemma "Pfau" in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum XXVII (2015) , 498-511.
Excavations in the environs of the late Roman pilgrimage center of St. Menas in northwestern Egyp... more Excavations in the environs of the late Roman pilgrimage center of St. Menas in northwestern Egypt during the late 1960s revealed fragments of wall paintings from the late 6th century AD. They once decorated the interior of a small church, and, in comparison to other contemporary wall paintings in the area, are of a very high artistic quality. The history of decoration and architectural details can be read from these fragments, even though the building itself has in the meantime vanished, and was perhaps destroyed during construction of modern settlements and an airport in the region. Painting techniques, the sequence of decoration steps and division of labour are documented as well, all of them show that here a very well organized workshop was employed. The paintings take a special position in early Christian and early Byzantine art, partially because they show unusual topics that have so far been known only from much later works of art, and partially because of their iconographic relationship to Coptic and Byzantine art. Although we cannot identify the donor of these paintings, we can deduce from his choice of workshop, the funds invested in higher quality paint pigments and the choice of topics and iconography that he was a financially and socially well situated person.
sections B.II, C.II and D.II of the lemma "Pfau" in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum XXVII ... more sections B.II, C.II and D.II of the lemma "Pfau" in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum XXVII (2015) , 498-511.
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