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Art

Father Makarios, the Icon Painter

William (Bill) James Johnson
RCRM-L2024.010.0002
Loan courtesy of Colonel (retired) Robert Elms
1977; oil

According to an autograph inscription on the back of the canvas, this portrait dated 26 Jan. 77, depicts “Father Makarios in his [monastic] cell.” The same inscription informs us that he was an icon painter at the monastery of Saint Barbara. Ayia Varvara, after her Cypriot designation, enjoys high popularity and as such she became the saint patron of many churches and monasteries. In the absence of more details, it is hard to determine in which one of these religious sites was Makarios’ cell situated; however, we could speculate that it may be Ayia Varvara Kaimakli (Αγίας Βαρβάρας Καϊμακλί), a church situated just outside the medieval walls of Nicosia.