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The Kykkotissa Virgin and Its Italian Appropriation

Author(s): Lenia Kouneni


Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 29, No. 57 (2008), pp. 95-107
Published by: IRSA s.c.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20067183
Accessed: 23-02-2018 14:27 UTC

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LENIA KOUNENI

The Kykkotissa Virgin and its Italian Appropriation

During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Italian Historical background


artists were familiar with the art of the Greek East, the art of
Byzantium. The impact of Byzantine art was noted by Renais Cyprus was Byzantine territory until 1191, when the Eng
sance critics, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti and Giorgio Vasari, lish king Richard Coeur de Lion conquered the island during
who used the terms 'maniera greca' and 'maniera bizantina' to the third crusade and sold it first to the Templars and then to
describe the style of the Dugento.1 Those writers used the the Frankish Lusignan family.4 The settlement of the Latins on
term 'maniera greca' in a negative sense, blaming it for every the island led to the establishment of a Crusader kingdom
thing that was wrong in Italy before the genius of Giotto joined to that of Jerusalem but long outlasting it; while the
brought in a new style of painting. It was thus regarded as the Arabs conquered Jerusalem in 1187 and Acre in 1291, the
dead hand of tradition and was thought to have no positive kingdom of Cyprus survived till 1489. Because of its strategic
role in the emergence of Italian art. geographic position and its status as a Latin kingdom, Cyprus
The role of Byzantium in the development of Italian art was served as a major commercial centre and base for Crusaders
reassessed by Otto Demus and Ernst Kitzinger, who were throughout the thirteenth century. The loss of Syria forced
among the first to argue that Byzantium played an essential European merchants to continue their trading activities from
role in the formation of Italian painting.2 Following their exam either Cyprus or Armenia Minor.5 Venetian and Genoese mer
ple, several Byzantine and western art historians have investi chants established trading centres in Cypriot harbours.6 For
gated the relation between Byzantine and Italian art.3 crusaders, pilgrims and merchants travelling by sea to the
This paper will examine relations between thirteenth Holy Land, Cyprus was a natural stopping place.
century Italian panel painting and Cypriot art. The main Italian trade with the East flourished during the late Middle
focus will be an iconographie type of Virgin and Child, the Ages. Apulian cities had close relations with the Holy Land.
so-called Kykkotissa Virgin, and its appropriation by Italian The harbours of Brindisi and other towns played a significant
artists. The historical setting will be taken into account, as role in traffic with the Levant.7 As Valentino Pace has pointed
well as the possible channels through which Cypriot art out, the dedication of churches like those at Brindisi and Bar
reached Italy. letta as Santi Sepolcri confirms the connection.8

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LENIAKOUNENI

~^*?zi*Mk

1) ?Virgin and Child with Figures of the Old and New Testament?; Sinai, Monastery of St Catherine.

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THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

2) ?Virgin and Child Surrounded by Prophets?, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum.

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LENIA KOUNENI

Tuscan associations with the East were also particularly iconographie type [Fig. 1]. It is probably of Constantinopolitan
strong. The merchants of Pisa held a dominant position in east origin and dates from the late eleventh or early twelfth centu
ern Mediterranean trade; they were active in the Crusader ry.18 The central image of the Virgin Mary seated on a throne is
states and in the kingdom of Jerusalem, where they had estab surrounded by compartments with figures from the Old and
lished trading colonies. During the thirteenth century Acre was New Testament. It is a complex type of Virgin and Child, quite
the main centre for the Pisans in Syria. At the same time, the different from the usual representation. The Child does not sit
Genoese were expelled from Acre in 1222 and again in 1258, firmly in the Virgin's lap, but tugs at her veil with his left hand,
while the Venetians were of secondary importance in the Cru while he touches her cheek with his head and kicks out with his
sader States.9 When the Arabs conquered the Crusader states, left foot. The Virgin's right arm is raised and she holds a scroll
in October 1291, Henry II of Lusignan, king of Cyprus, provided which Christ handles, playing with it like a toy. The Child is
the Pisans with privileges, which enabled them to make a new dressed in a sleeveless short tunic, has arms and legs exposed
settlement in the island. They were to pay only half of the usual in a 'display of natural good health and robustness'.19 His
duty on goods brought in or taken out and were also granted human nature is further emphasized by the absence of a halo.
a consul with jurisdiction, who arbitrated in Pisan affairs.10 A comparable late twelfth-century icon is found in the Her
Even cities that were not traditionally maritime powers such as mitage Museum in Saint Petersburg [Fig. 2].20 In the centre of
Siena seem to have been active in the Levant. The Sienese pre the icon is the figure of the Mother of God holding Christ in her
sented themselves as Pisans in Acre until 1268, when they arms in the same way as the Sinai Virgin. This main image is
were granted a reduction of dues.11 Moreover, at the end of the surrounded by figures of Prophets. The icon has suffered con
thirteenth century the Bardi and Peruzzi banking houses of siderably over the centuries. It was brought from Mount Athos
Florence had representatives in Famagusta.12 in 1860, but its place of production remains unknown, though
Apart from this commercial activity, other connections it seems to reflect the pictorial style of Constantinople.21
between Italy, Cyprus and the Crusader states may have con The Kykkotissa type is a variation of the Virgin of Tender
tributed to artistic exchange. The role of the Mendicant orders ness (Panagia Eleousa), a type which is characterised by the
in the artistic diffusion between east and west has been point tender closeness of the faces of Mother and Child.22 The
ed out.13 The Franciscans established a convent in Acre in the Kykkotissa Virgin expresses the warm relationship between
early thirteenth century, while they were also present in Child and Mother, which might be related to an emphasis on
Cyprus at the same time.14 Pisa seems to have had strong ties the infancy of Christ found in twelfth-century devotional litera
with Cyprus in the ecclesiastical field, too. Two Latin archbish ture.23 This tender intimacy between the Virgin and Child
ops in Cyprus were of Pisan origin, Hugh of Fagiano and John might also be connected with the introduction to the liturgy of
de Polo in 1251 and 1312.15 a new Passion service and a service of mourning in the
This range of connections would have facilitated Italian eleventh to twelfth century.24
familiarity with Cypriot art. Based on the tradition that the ?con in the monastery of
Kykkos came from Constantinople in 1082, as well as on the
attribution of the Sinai icon to a Constantinopolitan workshop
The iconographie type of the Kykkotissa Virgin of the late twelfth century, it may be supposed that the type
originated in the capital of the Byzantine Empire during the
The Kykkotissa Virgin takes its name from the icon of the Vir Komnenian period. The transfer of the icon to Cyprus, the
gin and Child in the Monastery of Kykkos in the Troodos moun foundation of the Kykkos monastery and the attribution of
tains, which was founded at the end of the eleventh century, miraculous powers to the icon led to a progressive diffusion of
when Cyprus still formed part of the Byzantine Empire. Accord the type on Cyprus.
ing to tradition, the icon was painted by the Evangelist Luke and
was given by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos in 1082
to a Cypriot hermit called Isaiah, who founded the monastery of Cypriot images of the Kykkotissa Virgin
Kykkos.16 The original icon has been hidden at least since the
sixteenth century and it is still regarded a sin to attempt to gaze It is difficult to establish when exactly the type of the
at the actual painting. It is encased in a silver gilt cover on which Kykkotissa Virgin started to spread in Cyprus, because the sur
is stamped the representation of the painting beneath.17 viving panels are undated and scholars are divided regarding
The earliest identifiable copy of the Kykkotissa Virgin is an their chronology. The dating of some of the panels varies as
icon at Sinai, which may provide some evidence of the original much as three hundred years from one scholar to another.

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_THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

?S?s^."*;

w??tem AII|&M|tt?fe::?

f$if?
im

mm
W;
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mm:

4) ?Virgin and Child (Variant of the Kykkotissa type)?,


Asinou, Cyprus, Church of Virgin of Asinou.

3) ?Virgin Kykkotissa?, Agios Theodoros, Cyprus, Church of


Panagia Kivotos.
A frescoed icon of the Kykkotissa Virgin painted in the
walled-up window niche on the east wall of the Chryseleousa
church in the village of Lyso could be one of the first represen
tations of the type. It is a devotional image, has been dated to
the mid-thirteenth century, though recent research has sug
The Cypriot Madonnas of the Kykkotissa type show differgested a later date, and was most probably painted by a Cypri
ent iconographie elements to those seen in the Sinai icon. All ot artist.25 In the Byzantine Museum at the village of Kalopana
giotis in north-west Cyprus there is an icon depicting the
of them are half-length, in contrast to the full-length Sinai Vir
Virgin Kykkotissa which came from the Monastery of Saint
gin. In addition, the Cypriot Virgin usually wears an embroi
John Lampadistis in the village of Kalopanagiotis. The icon
dered veil over her head, covering her maphorion, while the
child wears a sash around his waist. presents the usual characteristics of the iconographie type

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LENIA KOUNENI

and dates probably from the late thirteenth or first half of the metal, enamel and ivory were brought back by the Crusaders,
fourteenth century. 26 particularly after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. However,
An icon of the Kykkotissa Virgin, whose date is disputed, the question of imported painted images, which are of particu
is found on the iconostasis in the church of Panagia Kivotos in lar relevance to the issue of stylistic influence, present various
the village of Agios Theodoros [Fig. 3].27 This icon has been problems. A number of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Byzan
given different dates ranging from the mid-thirteenth to the six tine icons may have reached Italy, but there is disagreement
teenth century.28 The background is decorated with relief regarding the date that those icons were transferred. More
adornments as are the haloes and parts of the garments. This over, there is doubt whether they were painted on Byzantine
icon is of special interest, since it seems to be one of the first soil or in Italy by Byzantine artists or even by Italian artists,
icons to bear the epithet KHKHOTHCA. In 1848 the central who were imitating Byzantine prototypes.
part of the icon was covered by a metallic cover depicting the Some of the icons found in Italy imply a possible connec
Virgin and Child and bearing the epithet Kivotos (Ark), a prac tion to Cyprus. The panel of the Madonna della Madia in the
tice that was inspired by the icon at the Kykkos monastery.29 Cathedral of Monopoli is considered of Cypriot origin.33 The Vir
The type appears also in an icon from the church of the Vir gin is of the Hodegetria type, holding Christ with her left hand.
gin Chrysaliniotissa in Nicosia, which is now in the Byzantine A kneeling figure of a cleric appears in the bottom left of the pic
Museum.30 The Virgin is painted in the central section of a panel, ture and that of a monk at the bottom right under the figure of
surrounded by scenes from her life, some of which can not be Christ. According to tradition, the icon arrived in Monopoli on
identified because of the damage the icon has suffered. Howev a raft in 1117, at the time when the Cathedral was being built.34
er, the colours are identifiable and extremely vivid. The Virgin However, the icon dates from the second half of the thirteenth
wears a dark blue chiton, a purple maphorion and an orange century.35 Some of the distinct characteristics of this panel,
veil, while Christ is dressed in a brown, sleeveless chiton. such as the gilded relief background and the inclusion of the
A variant of the Kykkotissa type is seen in an icon general donors in the picture, have their origin in Cypriot art.36 There are
ly dated to the thirteenth century from the church of the Virgin stylistic affinities between the Madonna della Madia and Cypriot
of Asinou [Fig. 4].31 The Virgin here holds Christ in the same images of the same period. The icon of the Virgin and Child in
position, but she does not wear the decorative veil over her the church of Agia Paraskevi at Moutoullas shares common
maphorion, a feature which relates her to the Sinai icon. The characteristics with the Italian icon, especially in the typology of
fact that it is the only icon that can be dated to the thirteenth the faces. The shape of the eyes, and the darkened circles
century, explains why she does not follow closely the type beneath them, the line of the nose, the lights and shadows of
found in the other Cypriot depictions. It was probably painted the face, the line of the neck of the Cypriot Virgin are reminis
at a time when the distinct characteristics of the Cypriot Kykko cent of the modelling of the face of the Madonna della Madia.
tissa type were not yet established. This indicates an interme Another Hodegetria Virgin on the altar of the monastery
diary phase between the icon in the Kykkos monastery and the church of St Nilus in Grottaferrata is considered to be an
numerous Cypriot panels that replicate the type. By the mid imported Cypriot icon, based on its affinities with the icon of
thirteenth century, Cypriot painters started to show an interest an angel in the Cypriot monastery of St Crisostom.37 It dates
in the type of the icon in the Kykkos monastery. from the thirteenth century, but it may not have reached Italy
until the fifteenth century.38 Cardinal Bessarion found the icon
in the narthex of the church in 1462 and tried to support a new
The Knowledge of Cypriot Art in Italy cult for it by declaring it to be the work of St Luke.39
Another icon of the Madonna and Child in the Episcope in
Before moving to an examination of the appropriation of Andria (Bari) shows affinities with a Cypriot icon of the Virgin
the type of the Kykkotissa Virgin by Italian artists, it is impor and Child from the Church of the Virgin at Asinou, a fact that
tant to investigate whether and how they might have known has led some scholars to propose a Cypriot origin for the for
contemporary art from Cyprus. mer.40 The panel, which shows a variant of the Hodegetria
A great number of Byzantine artefacts were coming into type, was cut down at an unknown date and has suffered con
Italy from the Eastern Mediterranean trading posts that were siderable damage. The Byzantine style of the panel was first
maintained by Genoa, Venice and Pisa. Some Venetian and noted by Garrison, who published the icon in 1951, and linked
Pisan families engaged in international trade introduced it stylistically to the Madonna della Madia and to a group of
Byzantine art to their home towns and elsewhere in Italy from images that show the Byzantinising tendency of Campanian
the eleventh century.32 Relics and other precious objects in painting in the late Duecento.41

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_THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

* ..-.- ?v*;?v??*!i*-.

M? 'I,-',
K?.*!l
:':fT

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ya
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UM

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il
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la

5) ?Virgin and Child?, Pisa, Museo dell' Opera del Duomo. 6) ?Virgin and Child?, Athens, Byzantine Museum.

A Tuscan panel which may be associated with Cyprus is She is wearing a purple maphorion decorated with a golden
the Madonna di sotto gli organi, now in the Museo dell' Opera border. Her head bends slightly towards Christ, who is extend
del Duomo in Pisa [Fig. 5]. This panel was considered to be ing his right arm in a gesture of blessing, while with his left
a miracle-working icon and was held in considerable venera hand he holds an open book, where a passage from the
tion by the Pisans. Its name derives from the position it once Gospel of John (VIM: 12) is written in Greek letters.
occupied in the Duomo.42 The Virgin is again of the Hodege Writers from the sixteenth century onwards considered
tria type, holding Christ with her right hand (Dexiokratousa). the question of when and how the icon arrived in Pisa. They all

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LENIA KOUNENI

believed that the icon was not the product of a local workshop, the iconographie type of the Kykkotissa Virgin should occur in
but came from somewhere else. The tradition that prevailed some Italian panels of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
tells of how the icon was taken from Lombrici, a castle near The Madonna dell' Orto in the church of San Martino in
Camaiore in Lucchese territory, by the Pisans, on the occasion Velletri from the second half of the thirteenth century, follows
of a war in March 1226.43 The first reference to the panel dates the iconography of the Virgin Kykkotissa [Fig. 7].53 This image
from 1494, when Charles VIII of France entered Pisa and presents the distinctive characteristics of the Cypriot repre
restored freedom to the city. At that point the cult of the icon sentations; the child twists round in Virgin's arms and tries to
must have already been flourishing.44 The icon was placed on steady himself by grasping her veil, while he kicks out with his
an altar and was covered by seven veils.45 leg and his right arm dangles limply. Other typical features are
Garrison dated the panel to 1200-1220 and attributed it to the shoulder bands and sash over Christ's tunic and the Vir
Berlinghiero.46 Although the dating of the panel around 1200 gin's veil over her paenula.
is now generally accepted, its attribution to Berlinghiero has A panel in the Museo C?vico di Viterbo shows iconograph
been disputed. Garrison himself noted a considerable differ ie affinities to the Madonna delT Orto, though it differs in style,
ence between this work and the rest of Berlinghiero's oeuvre, and is probably of later date.54 The main difference is the plas
which he interpreted as a consequence of the retouchings the ter relief decoration of the haloes, an element found in Cypriot
painting has suffered. The hypothesis that the Tuscan panel is paintings, as has already been noted. The panel is probably
Byzantine is an old one. After examining the panel, Da Mor a copy of the Madonna dell' Orto or they both copy a common
rona in 1812 concluded that it was painted in Pisa by a Byzan model.
tine artist.47 The theory that the icon was either imported from A third panel which is very close to these two images is
the East or painted in Italy by a Byzantine artist has found sup the Madonna della Vittoria on the high altar of the cathedral of
porters in recent years.48 Piazza Armenina. Legend traces it back to 1059, when,
The figure of Christ with his small head and extremely elon according to tradition, it was donated by Pope Nicholas II to
gated body, the typology of the faces and the Greek inscription the Normans on the occasion of the council of Melfi (1059).55
in the book held by Christ suggest a work executed in a Byzan However, the image dates from the late thirteenth or early four
tine centre. The affinities of the panel with the frescoes of St teenth century and is probably of Sicilian origin.56 The Virgin
Neophytos in Cyprus, painted in 1184, point in the direction of and Child are depicted in the same way as the two previous
Cyprus.49 The panel also shows similarities with a thirteenth images, but here the Virgin bends her head more clearly
century icon, now in the Byzantine Museum in Athens, which towards Christ and she does not wear a veil. Moreover, the fig
seems to be a Cypriot work [Fig. 6].50 The disproportionate ures are surrounded by two small medallions bearing the
body of Christ as well as the rather emphatic depiction of his Greek words 'Mother of God' (Mtjttjq Oeov).
collarbone are two unusual characteristics that these two The type also occurs in the Madonna delle Vergini or
images share. The prominent collarbone, in particular, is a dis Bitonto Madonna, a panel in the Pinacoteca Provinciale in Bari
tinctive feature of Cypriot painting in the late twelfth and thir [Fig. 8]. It dates probably from the early fourteenth century
teenth centuries.51 Additionally, the face of the Virgin recalls and comes from a Benedictine monastery in Bitonto.57 The
another thirteenth-century Cypriot icon, from Moutoullas.52 image resembles the Kykkotissa type without being as close to
Most of the research regarding artistic relations between it as the previous panels. The artist has omitted the scroll
Cyprus and Italy has concentrated on South Italy, while Tuscany offered by the Virgin to Christ and the motif of Christ grasping
has been marginalised. However, the historical and ecclesiasti the veil is abandoned and changed into a gesture of blessing.
cal background indicates that the region, and in particular Pisa, According to Pace, this panel reflects a 'second step' in the
had close ties to Cyprus. If my theory about the Cypriot origin of diffusion of the type of the Kykkotissa Virgin "due to the slight
the Madonna di sotto gli organi is correct, then this painting may modifications of the authentic type".58
illustrate the stylistic and iconographie preferences of those A panel close to the Madonna delle Vergini is the Madon
who commissioned or imported panel paintings in Pisa. na delTlsola in a private collection in Naples, which dates from
the mid-fourteenth century.59 The panel is probably a copy of
the Madonna delle Vergini. However, the possibility that they
Italian images were both copying the same source should not be dismissed,
since around the border of the maphorion of the Madonna
All the panels discussed above indicate artistic connec delTlsola there is an inscription written in Greek letters, a fea
tions between Cyprus and Italy. It is thus not surprising that ture that distances her from the Madonna delle Vergini.

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THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

?TSS?^838HS2SSBffiBSM?BMSS^^

7) ?Madonna dell' Orto?, Velletri, Church of San Martino.

A variation of the Kykkotissa Virgin are also to be found in


a Florentine panel from the Convento delle Oblate in Careggi,
8) ?Madonna delle Vergini (Bitonto Madonna)?, Bari,
dated 1280-1290 [Fig. 9].60 The Child repeats the pose of the Pinacoteca Provenciale.
legs and the hand, while the Virgin bends towards Christ. How
ever, Christ, instead of passing his hand through his mother's
veil, tries to touch her face. This panel is more removed from
the type of the Kykkotissa Virgin than the South Italian ones, but
I believe there are elements reminiscent of the type. In fact, the images. The Virgin is depicted full-length, as in the Sinai image,
panel shows greater affinity to the Sinai icon than the Cypriot and the Child wears similar diaphanous underclothing.

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LENIAKOUNENI

The ways in which Italian painters came in contact with


this iconographie type are complex and uncertain. Valentino
*v "^ Pace has seen the case of the Kykkotissa Virgin as evidence of
the presence of Cypriot painting in South Italy.61 Annemarie
Carr has argued that it is not clear that the south Italian exam
ples derive from Cyprus, since in the period around 1300,
when the Italian icons are dated, the type did not enjoy that
much success in Cyprus. Because of the lack of the Cypriot
red veil in Italian Madonnas, she proposed that the icono
graphie affinities were due to cultural similarities between
South Italy and Cyprus rather than influence from one on the
other.62
It is true that the evidence we have is not strong enough in
order to come to any firm conclusions. For one thing, the dat
ing of the Cypriot icons is uncertain. However, the possibility
that the Kykkotissa type entered Italy via Cyprus seems likely.
If we accept that some of these icons are dated to the second
half of the thirteenth century, then the type could have been
transferred from Cyprus to Italy at that time. As far as the red
veil is concerned, there are two Italian images that include it,
the Madonna delT Orto and the Viterbo Madonna. In South
Italy where the Greek element was stronger and Byzantine
influence prevailed, we have a close adherence to Byzantine
models and the type of the Kykkotissa Virgin was adopted in
almost every detail. What I would like to suggest is that Tuscan
painters were also aware of the type, but chose selectively
some elements of the standard iconography and adapted the
image to their taste.
There is also the possibility that the Italian panels do not
derive directly from Cyprus, but from Sinai. Artists accompa
nied the crusaders in the Holy Land and even established
workshops in Acre. Kurt Weitzmann believed that there were
strong reasons to assume the presence of Latin painters in the
monastery of Sinai itself in the thirteenth century.63 At the
same time, relations between Cyprus and Sinai seem to have
intensified in the thirteenth century, when Cyprus became
a significant centre of artistic production among the Crusader
states.64 It may be then that this affectionate type came to the
attention of an Italian artist active in the Holy Land or even
Sinai and then made its way to Italy.
It is difficult to know the reasons for the appearance of this
particular iconographie type in Italian painting. Italian artists of
the thirteenth and fourteenth century were experimenting with
new approaches to religious subjects, including representa
tions of the Virgin and Child. Their inclination was toward more
affectionate images of the Virgin and Child rather than the
hieratic image of the Hodegetria. The more intimate relation
9) ?Virgin and Child?, Florence, Convento delle Oblate, ship between the Mother and the Child of the Kykkotissa Virgin
Careggi. provided one example of what they were looking for.

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_THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

1 L. Ghiberti, / Commentarii, O. Morisani ed, Naples, 1947, pp. 18 G. and M. Soteriou, Eikones tis Monis Sina, Athens,
32-33; G. Vasari, Le vite delle pi? eccelenti pittori, scultori e architet 1956-1958, vol. I, figs 54-55, vol. Il, pp. 73-75; T. Papamastorakis,
tori italiani nella redazioni del 1550 e 1568, R. Bettarini and P. Barocchi "Icon of the Virgin Vrephokratousa with Figures from the Old and New
eds., Florence, 1966, vol. Il, p. 97. Testament", in M. Vassilaki ed., Mother of God, Athens & Milan, 2000,
2 O. Demus, Byzantine Art and the West, London, 1970; E. pp. 314-316; P. L. Vokotopoulos, Vyzantines Eikones, Athens, 1995,
Kitzinger, "The Byzantine Contribution to Western Art of the Twelfth and pp. 196-197, pis. 22-23.
Thirteenth Centuries", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XX, 1966, pp. 25-47. 19 Papamastorakis (as in note 18), p. 316.
3 V. Lasareff, "Duccio and Thirteenth-Century Greek Icons", 20 O. E. Etingof, "Ermitazhnii pamiatnik vizantiiskoi zhivopisi
Burlington Magazine, LIX, 1931, pp. 154-169, J. H. Stubblebine, kontsa XII veka (Stir i ikonografiia)", in V. L. Afanasev, ed., Vostochnoe
"Byzantine Influence in Thirteenth-Century Italian Panel Painting", sredizemnomore i kavkaz IV-XVI: sbornik statei, Leningrad, 1988, pp.
Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XX, 1966, pp. 85-101; idem, "Byzantine 141-159, with English summary on p. 163; Y. Piatnitsky, "The Panagia
Sources for the Iconography of Duccio's Maest?", Art Bulletin, LVII, rion of Alexios Komnenos Angelos and Middle Byzantine Painting", in
1975, pp. 176-185; K. Weitzmann, "Crusader Icons and la 'maniera O. Z. Pevny, ed., Perceptions of Byzantium and Its Neighbors
greca'", in H. Belting ed., // medio oriente e T occidente nell'arte del (843-1261), New York, 2000, pp. 40-55, esp. 47, fig. 5; Y Piatnitsky et
XIII sec?lo, Bologna, 1982, pp. 143-170; W. D. Wixom, "Byzantine Art al. eds., Sinai, Byzantium, Russia: Orthodox Art from the Sixth to the
and the Latin West", in H. C. Evans, and W. D. Wixom, The Glory of Twentieth Century, London, 2000, cat. no. B90.
Byzantium, New York, 1997, pp. 435-449. 21 Piatnitsky, Sinai (as in note 20), cat. no. B90.
4 P. W. Edbury, The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, 22 For a discussion of the history of the basic iconographie types
1191-1374, Cambridge, 1991, pp. 1-12. of Virgin and Child in the art of Byzantium and the Christian East, see
5 W. Heyd, Histoire du commerce du Levant au Moyen-Age, N. P. Kondakov, Ikonografijia Bogomateri, vol. I, II, St. Petersburg,
Leipzig, 1885-1886, vol. Il, p. 23. 1914-1915 and V. Lasareff, "Studies in the Iconography of the Virgin",
6 G. F. Hill, A History of Cyprus, Cambridge, 1948, vol. II, p. 205. Art Bulletin, XX, 1938, pp. 26-65, esp. 36-42. For studies focusing on
7 Hill (as in note 6), vol. I, pp. 178, 361, 419. the iconography of the Virgin of Tenderness, see I. Grabar, "Sur les
8 V. Pace, "Italy and the Holy Land: Import-Export, 2. The Case origines et l'?volution du type iconographique de la Vierge El?ousa",
of Apulia", in J. Folda ed., Crusader Art in the Twelfth Century, in M?langes Charles Diehl, Paris, 1930, vol. Il, pp. 29-42 and M. Tatic
Jerusalem, 1982, p. 245. Djuric, "Eleousa: A la recherche du type iconographique", Jahrbuch
9 P. Malamina, "Pisa and the Trade Routes to the Near East in der ?sterreichischen Byzantinistik, 25, 1976, pp. 259-267, with previ
the Late Middle Ages", The Journal of European Economic History, ous bibliography.
XVI, 1987, pp. 335-356; J. Riley-Smith, "The Government in Latin Syria 23 Papamastorakis proposes that there are literary parallels for
and Commercial Privileges of Foreign Merchants", in D. Baker ed., this pictorial representation of Christ and gives Michael Psellos's
Relations Between East and West in the Middle Ages, Edinburgh, Encomium to his grandson and his Ekfrasis of a sleeping cupid as
1973, pp. 109-132. examples, Papamastorakis (as in note 18, p. 316).
10 Hill (as in note 6), vol. II, p. 206. The main Pisan commercial 24 H. Belting, Likeness and Presence, E. Jephcott trans., Chica
colony on the island was based in Limassol; see Malamina (as in note go, 1994, pp. 261-294.
9), pp. 345-346. It has been pointed out that the Pisan merchants who 25 Carr (as in note 10), pp. 350-351; Sophocles Sophocleous,
were active in Cyprus traded mainly with Cilicia, Venice and the Adriat "I Eikona tis Kykkotissas ston Agio Theodoro tou Agrou", Epetirida
ic coast, and very little with Tuscany; see A. Weyl Carr, "Byzantine and Kentrou Meleton leras Monis Kykkou, II, 1993, p. 333; more recently
Italians in Cyprus: Images from Art", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XLIX, Carr has dated it later than the thirteenth century, A. W. Carr, "The 'Vir
1995, p. 352; C. Otten-Froux, "Les Pisans en Chypre au Moyen-age", gin Veiled by God': The Presentation of an Icon on Cyprus", in E.
in Praktika tou defterou diethnous Kyphologikou synedriou, Nicosia, Sears and T. K. Thomas, eds., Reading Medieval Images: The Art His
1986, vol. II, pp. 140-142. torian and the Object, Ann Arbor, 2002, p. 226, n. 10.
11 D. Abulafia, "Marseilles, Acre and the Mediterranean", in P. W. 26 Ch. Hadjichristodoulou, "Icon with the Virgin Kykkotissa", in H.
Edbury and D. M. Metcalf, eds., Coinage in the Latin East, Oxford, C. Evans ed., Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557), New York,
1980, p. 38, n. 39; Riley-Smith (as in note 9), p. 124, n. 18. 2004, pp. 169-170.
12 Otten-Froux (as in note 10), p. 130. 27 Sophocleous dates it in the late thirteenth century; see Sopho
13 A. Derbes, "Siena and the Levant in the Later Dugento", Gesta, cleous (as in note 24). Annemarie Carr has proposed a later date; see
XXVIII, 1989, no. 1, pp. 190-204; Carr (as in note 10), pp. 352-353. Carr (as in note 24), p. 226, n. 10.
14 H. D. Purcell, Cyprus, London, 1969, p. 151. 28 Sophoclous dates it in the late thirteenth century; see Sopho
15 C. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica Medii Aevi, Pavia, 1913, vol. I, cleous (as in note 24). Annemarie Carr has proposed a later date; see
pp. 365-366. Carr (as in note 24), p. 226, n. 10; while recently Costas Constantinidis
16 For the account of the founding of the monastery, see L. dated in the sixteenth century; see C. N. Constantinidis, / diigisis tis
Makhairas, Chronikon Kyprou: Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Thavmatourgis Eikonas tis Theotokou Eleousas tou Kykkou: Kata ton
Cyprus entitled 'Chronicle', R. M. Dawkins ed. and trans., Oxford, elliniko kodika 2313 tou Vatikanou, Nicosia, 2002, pi. 36.
1932, l:37; Ephraim the Athenian, A Narrative of the Founding of the 29 Sophocleous (as in note 24), fig. 4.
Holy Monastery of Kykkos and the History of the Miraculous Icon of 30 Papageorgiou dates it in the fifteenth century; see A. Papa
the Mother of God, N. Christodoulou ed., Nicosia, 1996; R. Gunnis, georgiou, Byzantine Icons from Cyprus, Athens, 1976, p. 82, cat. no.
Historic Cyprus, London, 1947, pp. 302-305; K. Spyridakis, "I perigrafi 29. Sophocleous disagrees and proposes the thirteenth century as the
tis monis Kykkou epi ti vasi anekdotou cheirografou", Kypriakai date of its creation; see Sophocleous (as in note 24), p. 332.
Spoudai, XIII, 1949, pp. 1-29. 31 D. Mouriki, "Thirteenth-Century Icon Painting in Cyprus", The
17 A. and J. Stylianou, The Painted Churches of Cyprus, London, Griffon, II, 1986, pp. 37-38, A. Papageorgiou, Icons of Cyprus, J. Hog
1985, fig 10. arth trans., Geneva & London, 1969, p. 50; idem (as in note 29), p. 78,

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LENIA KOUNENI_
cat. no. 27. There is a large number of icons representing the Kykko 43 For the sources, see F. Baggiani, La Madonna di sotto degli
tissa Virgin in Cyprus, but I chose to mention only those which seem organi nella storia religiosa e civile di Pisa, Pisa, 1998, pp. 15-18; E. B.
to be the earliest representations; apart from those already men Garrison, "Post-War Discoveries - III: The Madonna 'di sotto gli
tioned, Sophocleous dates two more in the end of the thirteenth cen organi'", Burlington Magazine, LXXXIX, 1947, p. 274, no 5.
tury, the Kykkotissa in Praetori and the Kykkotissa in Lemithou; see 44 Baggiani (as in note 43), pp. 41-42,143.
Sophocleous (as in note 24), p. 336. 45 For the veneration of the icon over the centuries and its life in
32 Demus (as in note 2), p. 103; K. N. Ciggaar, Western Travellers to the Pisan Duomo, see ibid., pp. 35-135.
Constantinople: the West and Byzantium, 962-1204: Cultural and Politi 46 Garrison (as in note 43), pp. 274-279; idem (as in note 38), no.
cal Relations, New York, 1996, pp. 84-85; Wixom (as in note 3), p. 437. 644.
33 V. Pace, "Pittura bizantina nell'ltalia m?ridionale (secoli 47 A. Da Morrona, Pisa illustrata nell'arte del disegno, Pisa, 1812,
XI-XIV)", in G. Cavallo ed., / Bizantini in Italia, Milan, 1982, p. 474; Vol. I, pp. 449-451, 53-55.
idem, "Icone di Puglia, della Terra Santa e di Cipro: Appunti preliminari 48 Pace (as in note 38), p. 426; M. Boskovits, The Origins of
per un' indagine sulla ricezione Bizantine nell'ltalia m?ridionale Due Florentine Painting, 1100-1270, A Critical and Historical Corpus of
centesca", in H. Belting ed., // Medio Oriente e ?'Occidente nelTarte del Florentine Painting, R. E. Wolf trans., Florence, 1993, vol. 1/1, p. 50; M.
XIII sec?lo, Bologna, 1982, p. 185; idem, "Presenze e influenze cipri Bacci, "Due tavole della Vergine nella toscana occidentale del primo
ote nella pittura duecentesca italiana", Corso di cultura sulTarte raven Duecento", Annali della scuola normale superiore di Pisa, II, 1997, pp.
nate e bizantina, XXXII, 1985, pp. 268-271; Garrison thought of it as 1-59, esp. 36-53.
Pugliese, see E. B. Garrison, "Addenda ad Indicem - II", Bollettino 49 Boskovits was the first to suggest a connection between these
d'Arte XXXVI, 1951, p. 300. For the various attributions of the icon see, frescoes and the icon in Pisa; see Boskovits (as in note 48), p. 50, n.
M. M. Lovecchio, "Madonna con Bambino (Madonna della Madia)", in 97; for the frescoes, see C. Mango and E. J. W. Hawkins, The Her
P. Belli D'Elia, ed., Icone di Puglia e Basilicata dal Medioevo al Sette mitage of St Neophytos and Its Wall Paintings, Washington, 1966, pp.
cento, Milan, 1988, pp. 116-117. 119-206.
34 F. A. Glianes, Historia e Miracoli della divota e miracolosa 50 For this icon, see D. Mouriki, "A Thirteenth-Century Icon with
imagine della Madonna della Madia miracolosamente venuta alla Citt? a Variant of Hodegetria in the Byzantine Museum of Athens", Dumbar
di Monopol! e d'alcune cose notabili di detta Citt?, Trani, 1643, pp. ton Oaks Papers, XLI, 1987, pp. 403-414; Vokotopoulos (as in note
99-123; G. Bellifemine, La Basilica Madonna della Madia in Monopoli, 18), p. 207, pi. 71.
Fasano, 1979, pp. 73-80. 51 This detail is found for example in the icons of Christ from
35 Lovecchio (as in note 33), pp. 117-118, no 18; Garrison (as in Lagoudera and from the church of the Virgin in Moutoullas; see Papa
note 33), p. 300; Pace, "Presenze..." (as in note 33), pp. 268-271. georgiou (as in note 30), nos. 7, 14.
36 Pace, "Presenze..." (as in note 33), pp. 270-271. The pastiglia 52 P. L. Vokotopoulos, "Three Thirteenth-Century Icons at
technique was applied extensively in Cypriot panel paintings from the Moutoulas", in N. Patterson Sevcenko and Ch. Moss, Medieval
early thirteenth century on, a fact that may support the hypothesis that Cyprus: Studies in An, Architecture and History in Memory of Doula
this technique originated in the island in the early Lusignan period, Mouriki, Princeton, 1999, fig. 5, pi. 11.
see M. S. Frinta, "Raised Gilded Adornment of the Cypriote Icons and 53 Garrison dated the image to the late thirteenth century and
the Occurrence of the Technique in the West", Gesta, XX, 1981, pp. attributed it to the hand of a Roman painter, Garrison (as in note 38), p.
333-347. 66, no 169. Brandi dated the panel to the mid-thirteenth century, C.
37 Weitzmann noted the affinities between the two panels and Brandi, Duccio, Florence, 1951, pp. 114-115; see also Mannino (as in
attributed the icon of Grottaferrata to the hand of the Crusader artist, note 40), pp. 487-496.
K. Weitzmann, "Icon Painting in the Crusader Kingdom", Dumbarton 54 Van Marie linked it to North Italian Tuscan paintings of the end
Oaks Papers, XX, 1966, pp. 74-75, figs. 51-52; Pace based on the of the thirteenth century; see R. Van Marie, The Development of the
same similarities proposed a Cypriot origin for the icon; see Pace, Italian Schools of Painting, New York, 1970, vol. I, p. 561, fig. 32. Garri
"Pittura bizantina..." (as in note 33), pp. 473-474 and idem, "Presen son considered it to be a Roman painting and dated in the late thir
ze..." (as in note 33), pp. 265-266. teenth century; see Garrison (as in note 39), 67, no 133. Mannino pro
38 Idem, "Between East and West", in Vassilaki (as in note 18), p. posed an origin from Campania and dated it in the last decades of the
452; E. B. Garrison, /fa//an Romanesque Panel Painting, Florence, thirteenth century and the first years of the fourteenth century; see
1949, no 87. Mannino (as in note 40).
39 Belting (as in note 24), pp. 342, 591, n. 40; A. Rocchi, Limmag 55 Mannino (as in note 40), p. 488, fig. 5; Sicilia: Guida d'ltalia del
ine di S. Maria di Grottaferrata, Rome, 1887. Touring Club italiano, Milan, 1989, p. 508.
40 Pace, "Presenze..." (as in note 33), pp. 260-265, figs. 1-2; 56 Garrison (as in note 38), p. 61, no 103; Mannino (as in note
idem, "Pittura bizantina..." (as in note 33), p. 473; idem, "Icone..." (as 40), p. 488.
in note 33), pp. 184-185; P. Santa Maria Mannino, "La Vergine 'Kykkio 57 Garrison (as in note 38), no. 113; Mannino (as in note 40), p.
tissa' in due icone Laziali del Duecento", in A. M. Romanini ed., Roma 488; Belli D'Elia (as in note 33), pp. 126-128, no 30; V. Pace, "Panel of
anno 1300, Rome, 1983, pp. 490-491; for different views regarding its the Madonna and Child - Madonna delle Vergini", in Vassilaki (as in
origins, see Garrison (as in note 33), p. 300; P. Belli D'Elia, "Fra note 19), p. 447, no 72. The panel has been attributed to Giovanni da
tradizione e rinnovamento. Le icone dall' XI al XIV sec?lo", in Belli Taranto, see A. M. Guida, "Giovanni da Taranto", in Enrico Castelnuo
D'Elia (as in note 33), pp. 24-25. The hypothesis that it was executed vo ed., La pittura in Italia. II Duecento e il Trecento, Milan, 1986, p. 578.
in a Byzantine centre began by D'Elia in 1964; see M. D'Elia, Mostra 58 Pace (as in note 57), p. 447.
delTarte in Puglia dal Tardo Antico al Rococ?. Catalogo della Mostra, 59 Garrison (as in note 33), p. 302; Belli D'Elia (as in note 33), p.
Bari, 1964, pp. 11-12. 128, no 31.
41 Garrison (as in note 33), p. 300. 60 For the Florentine panel and its various attributions, see
42 It was attached to a pillar below the organs. Boskovits (as in note 48), pp. 664-667.

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THE KYKKOTISSA VIRGIN AND ITS ITALIAN APPROPRIATION

61 Pace, "Presenze..." (as in note 33), pp. 259-298; idem, 64 Idem, "A Group of Early Twelfth-Century Sinai Icons Attributed
"Icone..." (as in note 33), pp. 181-191. to Cyprus", in G. Robertson and G. Henderson eds., Studies in
62 Carr (as in note 10), pp. 353-356. Memory of David Talbot Rice, Edinburgh, 1975, pp. 47-63; Mouriki (as
63 K. Weitzmann, "The Icons of the Period of the Crusades", in in note 31), pp. 72-74. The close contacts of the monastery of the
idem, The Icon, London, 1982, p. 201; it seems that Crusaders built Sinai and Cyprus during the thirteenth century are confirmed by the
even a chapel at Sinai called St. Catherine of the Franks, see /dem, bull of Pope Honorius III of 1217, see G. Hofmann, "Sinai und Rom",
"Thirteenth Century Crusader Icons on Mount Sinai", Art Bulletin, XLIV, Ohentalia Christiana, IX, 1927, pp. 218-299; K. Amantos, Syntomos
1963, p. 200. istoria tis leras Monis tou Sina, Thessaloniki, 1953, pp. 35-39.

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