Image Details

Robert Merritt

THE EYES OF CHRIST in this Byzantine fresco from Karanlik Kilise (Dark Church) in Göreme, Turkey, have been gouged out by an iconoclast. The damage is clearly not accidental; the rest of the fresco is beautifully preserved (the celebrated darkness of this poorly lit church helped preserve the paintings). By removing the eyes, iconoclasts hoped to render the icon blind and powerless. The woman standing beside Paul in the Ephesus fresco was similarly blinded, although Paul was not touched.