habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

D. CaragnanoIn Cappadocia, the image of the Saint with a spear (while inthe Georgian tradition Eustace had a bow) became popular inthe 10 th century: he was painted while riding toward the deer,while the animal’s head was turned to the chaser, and had across between the horns.The most ancient representations of the Vision show Sassanidinfluences: the painting in the church n° 3 of the Güzelöz /Mavrucan necropolis portrays Saint Eustace with a Persianheaddress, riding a powerful horse in the pose of flying gallop,while the big red deer is on a rock on the right.Saint Eustace in Sassanid clothes was painted also in a churchof the funerary site of Kurt Dere (near Karacaören): the sceneis different from the scene in Güzelöz / Mavrucan becausethe Saint was represented frontally, and the deer was smaller.More, a stylized vegetable frame brought out the Saint.In the church of Hagios Stephanos (Cemil) the same iconographywas enriched with the presence of three hunting dogsaround Saint Eustace on horseback, and the big deer was representedstanding facing the chasers.A good example of the Vision from the 10 th century was paintedon the wall of the northern nave in the church of St. John inGüllü Dere: here the scene is inverted toward the apse.Another example of inverted scene is in the Sakli Kilise(Göreme n° 2).The Vision was often painted in the narthex, the part of thechurch were burials occurred: some examples are the churchn°11 in Göreme (10 th century), the Great Dovecot in Çavuşin(963 -969) and the church of “John the Priest”, in the Ihlaravalley (first half of the 10 th century). In this monument, thereis a votive panel representing Eustace hunting; some wordstestify the importance of the image for the donor: there are thewords of Christ “Oh Placidus, why do you prosecute me? I amthe light of the world and the Resurrection”, and the prayer ofthe donor “For the remission of sins of you servant, Theodosius”.The Vision, as the symbol of eternal salvation for the Christians,is among the clients’ portraits in the Karab·s Kilise(Soğangli), among vine-shoots and great crosses 17 .In the 10 th century, the Protospatharios John Skepidis is theclient of a Vision of Saint Eustace, which is now destroyed.It was painted between two saints in the southern wall of theGeykli Kilise, Soğanli.The Saint Eustace’s church in Erdemli and the Saint George’schurch in Ortaköi testify the duration of the devotion for SaintEustace and his iconography in the 13 th century.There are some interesting variations of the Vision. In theGeykli Kilise (Soğanli), the deer was substituted by a cross;in the church of Saint George (Nakipari, 12 th century), thepainter reduced the scene to the simple vision, painting ChristEmmanuel over an ancient basso-relievo of a deer’s head,transforming a narrative image into a symbol.There is a version of the Vision (8 th century) in an iconoclastchurch in Yaprakhisar, near Hassan Daği, where the Romangeneral is represented as a ferocious lion hunting a deer with across between its horns 18 .The veneration of Saint Eustace in Cappadocia is expressedthrough many portraits of the Saint (whole or half figures) andhis family, outside any narrative context.The episode of the martyrdom of Saint Eustace is documentedonly in the New Church of Tokali (Göreme), probably foundedFig. 5 Cemil, Hagios Stephanos, Vision of St. Eustace.Fig. 6 Yaprakhisar (Hassan Daği). Iconoclast church, Vision of St. Eustace.Fig. 7 Matera, St. Eustace’s Church. Vision of St. Eustace.Fig. 8 Palagianello (Ta), Saint Hermits’ Church, Vision of St. Eustace.67volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 67 16/11/2012 15:01:19