When the newly renovated galleries at the Israel Museum opened in July, visitors were treated to the first public viewing of a magnificent 12th-century fresco from the Gethsemane Courtyard in Jerusalem. The painting, which measures almost 20.5 feet long by 9 feet high, is the largest ever found in an Israel excavation.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), under the direction of Jerusalem region archaeologist Jon Seligman, conducted excavations in Nahal Kidron, next to the Garden of Gethsemane, in 1999. They uncovered several buildings dating to the 12th century, which were part of the Abbey of St. Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Although the famous Ayyubid conqueror Saladin had destroyed most of the abbey during his invasion of Jerusalem in 1187 A.D., the excavators found the painting in one of the buildings on a wall of the Monastery of Miriam, surprised by both the quality and the sheer size of the Crusader-period find.
Only the bottom portion of the painting has survived. According to Seligman, the painting appears to contain an iconographic formula known as deésis, which means “supplication” in Greek: Mary and John the Baptist beseech Jesus for forgiveness on behalf of humanity. Jesus sits in the middle, with John the Baptist on his left and Mary on his right. In the center of the work, colorful floral tendrils flow on either side of a Latin inscription quoting 017St. Augustine: “Who injures the name of an absent friend, may not at this table as guest attend.” Based on this inscription, experts think it likely that the painting adorned a refectory (dining room) in the monastery. The Benedictine monks who lived there refrained from gossip and unnecessary conversation, so the phrase would hardly apply to them. It may have been intended as a warning for guests who were invited to dine at the monastery.
After an extensive and meticulous conservation effort carried out by Jacques Nagar and a team of IAA art conservators (made possible by a contribution from the Friends of the Israel Museum), the fresco was prepared to be a highlight of the new galleries at the museum.—B.S.
When the newly renovated galleries at the Israel Museum opened in July, visitors were treated to the first public viewing of a magnificent 12th-century fresco from the Gethsemane Courtyard in Jerusalem. The painting, which measures almost 20.5 feet long by 9 feet high, is the largest ever found in an Israel excavation. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), under the direction of Jerusalem region archaeologist Jon Seligman, conducted excavations in Nahal Kidron, next to the Garden of Gethsemane, in 1999. They uncovered several buildings dating to the 12th century, which were part of the Abbey of St. Mary of the […]
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