Saint Euthymios
Date: 17th century
Translated Inscription:Inscribed: Saint Euthymios
Period: Post-Byzantine
Public Geography:Northern Greece
Medium: Tempera on canvas mounted on wood
Dimensions:
12 1/8 × 7 5/8 × 1 in. (30.8 × 19.4 × 2.5 cm)
Classification: Painting
Credit Line: Bequest of Jermayne MacAgy
Object number: 1964-198 McA
Not on view
EssayThis small panel illustrates the tradition of icon painting in its modest, folkloric tradition. The saint’s long grey beard and simple garments identify him as an ascetic—a monk or hermit. Black script on either side of the figure’s head reads “Saint Euthymios,” a name belonging to several sainted monks. Most likely this painting shows Euthymios the Great, an early 5th-century church father who established monastic communities throughout what is now Palestine. Euthymios’s whimsically curling beard points to the swaddled infant he cradles in his left arm. The imagery of the swaddled child more typically belongs to St. Stylianos of Paphlagonia, known for his ability to heal children and assist women anxious to conceive. It appears that the iconography of Stylianos was applied here to Euthymios because the latter was born to aged, childless parents. Because of this, Euthymios also developed a reputation for aiding infertile couples.
Public Website: Yes
Exhibitions:
- Imprinting the Divine: Byzantine & Russian Icons from The Menil Collection