KLPS, 5 Painting

Acrylic on paper painting with a single leaf motif inspired by Byzantine art. This ancient pattern is on the marble cornice of the main apse of the north church of Constantine Lips Monastery (κωνσταντίνος λήψ, Monastery tou Libos, Fenari İsa Camii), which was built in the tenth century in Aksaray, Istanbul. This leaf relief repeats inside the building but none of them are the same with the other. It seems the ancient sculptors did not copy a single pattern but every time created it again with Euclidean geometry. Geometric deconstruction of this pattern consists of a central circle and triangles. The central circle provides the base of the motif and then the triangles that creating the tips of the leaf were carved on the marble in an angle providing the Pythagorean equation. In this paper work, this leaf is placed on the corner to emphasize the angles of the overlapping simple geometric forms which consist the motif. This Byzantine leaf design that is the main inspiration of this painting belongs to a larger composition on the marble cornice of north church’s main apse. The main part of the cornice comprises a central composition, with an equal-armed cross enclosed in a wreath of foliage and, flanking the wreath, two symmetrical flower stems and two facing partridges [or peacocks]. Beyond this composition which is in the middle of the frieze, the field is divided into equilateral triangles by a slight zig-zag frame, each triangle being filled with an upright leaf or a palmette (Grabar, 1963). But this cross relief enclosed by a wreath of foliage, representing the place of Jesus is in heaven, is missing today, possibly recently stolen.

Painting:Acrylic on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:5.9 W x 7.8 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.