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Document Details :

Title: Christian Arab Painters under the Mamluks
Author(s): CRUISKSHANK DODD, Erica
Journal: ARAM Periodical
Volume: 9    Issue: 1-2   Date: 1997   
Pages: 257-288
DOI: 10.2143/ARAM.9.1.2002178

Abstract :
More than one hundred years ago, Renan recorded the fresco painting in some of the caves and churches of the Lebanon, calling it “Syrian”, meaning the art of the Syriac speaking communities. It has taken a long time for scholars to identify and recognize the role these frescoes play in the history of Medieval painting and Renan may have underestimated their importance. These paintings in the churches and cave chapels of Lebanon illustrate a brilliant chapter of medieval art reflecting currents of interchange between the East, the West, and Byzantium. This paper considers the main schools of painting in the Lebanon during the rule of the Mamluks for which I have chosen four monuments: two of the paintings in the church of Mar Phocas at Amioun; one of the panels in the church of Mar Charbel in Ma’ad; some details from the Church of Mar Thadros, Bahdeidat and one of the panels in the Church of Mar Saba, Édde. The reasons for this selection is that all these paintings have some indications of their date or some exterior documentation, and thus build a foundation on which to discuss other paintings from this area in the Crusading period.

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