The Byzantine Fresco Chapel is a part of the

Menil Collection The Menil Collection, located in Houston, Texas, refers either to a museum that houses the art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs a ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, near the University of St. Thomas. From February 1997 to February 2012, it displayed the only intact

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

of this size and importance in the western hemisphere. The Byzantine frescoes had been taken from the church of St. Evphemianos in Lysi,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the 1980s. In September 2011, the collection announced that the frescos would be permanently returned to Cyprus in February 2012, following the conclusion of a long-term loan agreement with the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus. The frescoes had been presented at the museum by agreement with the Church of Cyprus, their owners, but the church decided not to extend the loan further. They will not return to their original home as Lysi is now in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

, but will be displayed at the Byzantine Museum in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

. On March 4, 2012, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel closed, but re-opened in 2015 for the first in a series of site-specific projects.

History

The chapel was opened in February 1997, and displayed masterworks from the 13th century—a dome with

Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism. The Pantokrator i ...

and an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

depicting the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, the

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

. The frescoes had been stolen from a chapel near Lysi in the Turkish-occupied section of

in the 1980s, cut into 38 pieces, and shipped to Germany by thieves to sell them in the arts black-market.Slessor, Christine. "Out of this world – Chapel Museum, Houston, Texas – Glass and Transparency." ''The Architectural Review''. May, 1998. The 38 fresco fragments were bought from the thieves by the Houston-based Menil Foundation on behalf of the Church of Cyprus, the rightful owner of the frescoes. The Menil Foundation then funded a careful restoration of the paintings.Byzantine Fresco Chapel
''www.menil.org''. These intact frescoes were unique in the western hemisphere.

The original collection

The major part of the collection consisted of the frescoes of the dome and apse. According to the guide to the museum, "the Lysi dome represents Christ Pantokrator, 'All sovereign'. It defines a space with no beginning and no end."Guide to the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum. The depiction of Christ gazing directly forward "has driven time out of space. His gaze is transworldly: not looking but all-seeing." By not depicting the Lord below the bust, he is "universal and ubiquitous." Surrounding the figure of Christ is a double row of angels moving towards the throne prepared by God the Father for the

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

. The throne is guarded by the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

and

Archangel Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

and two

seraphim A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a Angelic being, celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and ...

. The

leads one line of angels to the throne, while

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

leads the other. In the apse, the Virgin was depicted as flanked by the two archangels with a medallion on her breast of the infant Christ, symbolizing the

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

of Christ.

Later exhibits

Later exhibits in the Chapel have included ''The Infinity Machine''. This rotating work by

Janet Cardiff Janet Cardiff (born March 15, 1957) is a Canadian artist who works chiefly with sound and sound installations, often in collaboration with her husband and partner George Bures Miller. Cardiff first gained international recognition in the art wor ...

and

George Bures Miller George Bures Miller (born 1960) is a Canadian artist known for his collaborative works with his wife Janet Cardiff. Miller and Cardiff represented Canada at the 2001 Venice Biennale. They are based in British Columbia, Canada. Solo works Works ...

incorporates an array of antique mirrors suspended from above, accompanied by sonic elements made from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

recordings of solar winds interacting with planetary ionospheres.

Architecture

The $4 million building was designed by architect François de Menil. The interior combines rough stone, opaque glass, and rich woods, to create a space that is both art museum and spiritual space. The suspended-glass "walls" are not replicas of the chapel that the frescoes were removed from, but created a new context for displaying the icons. In order not to simply replicate the original chapel, de Menil designed "a mediating external building with an embedded steel structure – a 'reliquary box' – which forms a neutral enclosure for a freestanding chapel," according to Christine Slessor in ''The Architectural Review''. The Byzantine chapel is oriented to face the cardinal directions – the facades face directly north, south, east and west. The enclosed space measures approximately . There are no windows on the surface area of the building, except for a skylight of of clear, double glazed glass, which permits natural light to pervade the interior.Allan V. Co
Byzantine Fresco Chapel - climatology
''

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

'', 2002. Retrieved January 8, 2017. A rough limestone wall on the outside of the building evoked the rough construction of the original chapel in Cyprus.

References

External links

Official websiteMenil Collection information page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byzantine Fresco Chapel Repatriated objects Art museums and galleries in Texas Byzantine art Culture of Cyprus Museums in Houston Religious museums in Texas Recovered works of art Neartown, Houston