From prehistoric sculpture to antiquity
The oldest traces of artistic expression in Cyprus are to be found in sculptural practices, the oldest of which date back to the Copper Age, 3,000 B.C., such as theIdole of Pomos, named after the small village where it was discovered. This cross-shaped statuette is emblematic of Cypriot prehistoric art, and even illustrates the country's euros! It can be seen at the Archaeological Museum of Cyprus in Nicosia. Many sculptures of this type are also scattered throughout the country. There are many archaeological sites on the island and many of them date back to the Hellenistic period. At the District Museum in Limassol we can see a head of Apollo found in the sanctuary dedicated to the god at Kourion, where ancient Greek ruins can still be admired. Theisland preserves many marble ensembles from this period, such as the Archaeological Park of Paphos or the temple of Aphrodite of Amathonte.An art history dominated by painted icons
Because of the quality, abundance and richness of its hagiographical representations, Cyprus is sometimes called the 'Island of Saints'. The many influences over the centuries have strengthened Cypriot cultural identity and its attachment to religious art. The art of icons has been perpetuated and maintained without interruption for fourteen centuries, despite the painful ordeals of successive occupations since the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. That is why Cyprus finds its most traditional expression in icon painting. Many works are classified by Unesco. The oldest coloured icon is an icon, the Virgin and Child, dated from the end of the 7th century. The works prior to the 11th century stand out clearly from those that follow, largely influenced by the artists of Constantinople. From the beginning of the 13th century, the successive arrivals of Richard the Lionheart, the Franks under the Lusignans, and finally the Venetians brought waves of new influences to Cypriot art. Today, the art of icons continues to flourish, with a return to Byzantine traditions. Dr. Sophocles Sophocleous's excellent work, The Icons of Cyprus from the 7th to the 20th Century, can be consulted on the subject at the Cultural Heritage Centre in Nicosia.
The legacy of Philippos Goul (15th-16th centuries) and religious art
The artists of the painted churches of the Troodos have often remained anonymous, humbly fading away behind their patrons and biblical representations. Philippos Goul, the great master of Cypriot painting, is one of the few exceptions. At the end of the Middle Ages, his reputation was such that he put his name on the walls of three different buildings: in 1495 in the monastery of Agios Mamas inLouvaras, between 1494 and 1505 in the church of Timios Stavros Agiasmati in Platanistasa, and at the beginning of the 16th century in thechurch of Metamorfosis tou Sotiros in Palaichori. He was the most prominent artist of the time: he was a favourite with the Orthodox clergy, the Frankish nobles and the Venetians who had just acquired Cyprus (1489). He was nicknamed "the Red" for the colour he used with strength and nuance in his frescoes with a thousand details. The broad shoulders and strong head of Philippos Goul's figures are in the tradition of the "Macedonian school" (867-1056). The painter opens himself to the Cypriot culture where Greek, Latin, Armenian and Arab influences coexist. The island was also marked in the 13th century by the art of the Crusades or "Cypriot way": certain Catholic iconographic codes were gradually integrated into a popular local art known as "naive". These different characteristics are found in Goul: a sometimes clumsy line, the recurrence of themes dear to the West such as theExaltation of the Holy Cross, and the extreme architectural detail of the backgrounds. He seems to hesitate between Western realism and the assumed Byzantine simplicity, and draws from these different registers without originality. Unesco experts even describe him as an artist "without style". One can also perceive in this tangle of styles the end of a golden age. With the capture of the island by the Ottomans in 1570, although several religious buildings were transformed into mosques, the Orthodox Church regained the moral, political and financial power that had been confiscated from it for four centuries. Forced into classicism and cut off from the great evolutions of Western art (from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment), Cypriot painters gradually stopped reinventing themselves.From late modernity to the emergence of contemporary art
Cypriot painting therefore struggles to extricate itself from religious iconography. Michael Kashalos (1885-1974) is one of the artists who mark the late entry of the island in the modern era. This self-taught painter devoted most of his work to the description of Cypriot folklore. His paintings, which span sixty years of practice, represent an exhaustive panorama of local society. His style is marked by Byzantine icons, as evidenced by the large heads of his figures in Landscape with field workers. He thus marks the island's transition into the secular arts, while retaining characteristic features of religious painting. Several of the works of this chronicler of the life and history of the island in the twentieth century can be admired at the Pierides Museum in Larnaca
With the independence of Cyprus in 1959, a wind of freedom blew for Cypriot artists, like Stass Paraskos (1933-2014). He left for England at the age of 19 and began brilliant studies in painting at Leeds College before achieving worldwide success. Paraskos considered Matisse, Gauguin and Chagall as his masters. His immigrant status made him understand the uniqueness and richness of the Cypriot identity. While remaining faithful to his conception of painting, he was inspired by the folklore and colors of his native country. His paintings illustrate rural Cypriot life, the tormented history of the island, love, life, death, always in a lyrical and romantic mode. He founded the Cyprus College of Art in Lempa, near Paphos, and in 2005, his series Freedom Roads represented Cyprus at the XXIII Biennial of Sao Paulo. It is the first time in 25 years that the island is present at this major cultural event.
A representative collection of paintings and sculptures by Cypriot artists of the 20th century is offered by the National Collection of Modern Art in Nicosia. The Nicosia Arts Center, located in a former electricity factory, organizes important and famous exhibitions. Its aim is to contribute to the development of contemporary art and national creativity. You will also find galleries and art centers in the cities of Larnaca and Limassol. In addition, the MOCA of Cyprus houses a State Gallery of Contemporary Art to promote Cypriot art of the 20th and 21st centuries. It offers temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, with the long-term plan to create a museum.
A photographic history marked by family studios
Photography was brought to the island by non-natives, some of whom settled there, such as the Armenian Haigaz Mangoian, who founded a studio on the island. Mangoian's photographs have a remarkable historical value, documenting the life of the islanders, between ports and places of worship. Another Armenian named Vahan Avedisian founded a studio on the island in the 1920s. He and his brother prospered in the postcard industry, making the family studio popular with tourists and locals alike. It was Frenchman John P. Foscolo, however, who first photographed the island in the late 1850s, while on a study tour of Crusader castles. It is with the three known photographs from this trip that the history of the medium in Cyprus begins. In 1878, moving to Limassol, John P. Foscolo became the official photographer of the British army. His links with the upper classes of the island enabled him to document the first decades of the 20th century (1900-1920) and the tremendous growth the island experienced during this period; it was also his most fruitful period.
On the islanders' side, Ahmet Sevki is the father of this new art. From 1887, he began an amateur practice to which he quickly introduced his wife, Ismet Hanim. Little by little, they became professional and founded a studio in the early 1900s. Many others flourish on the island, some of them on the same format. They respond to the growing desire for family portraits and photos. This first wave of Cypriot photographers, whose stamps fill family albums, is still well known among the islanders. Still very little represented today, and even less documented, contemporary Cypriot photography hardly leaves the beaten track of commissioned work where the old tradition of family and wedding photography continues. However, the work of Helena Georgiou (1985-) is distinguished by its assertive minimalism. She photographs human presence in very graphic and schematic frames and spaces, in black and white as well as in colour. The bodies become part of a poetry of abstract forms or, on the contrary, disturb the reading of these spaces that seem to be plans. She is a member of the selective Cyprus Photographic Society and has received numerous awards around the world, including the EYE prize from the European Parliament in 2018.
Cypriot street art, a recent boom
On this island with its hybrid and millenary culture, some may say that there is little room left for the street art culture that has been developing for less than half a century around the globe. And yet, here, ancient frescoes rub shoulders with those of painters of a new time. The International Street Art Festival in Ayia Napa sees over the editions of perennial frescoes proliferate. This seaside town with its bright facades has been displaying new colors every spring since 2014. Artists like L7M, a Brazilian well known in the graffiti world, have taken over the walls of this small town to the delight of its inhabitants and tourists. Obviously, many works are visible in the two largest cities of the island, Nicosia and Limassol, which remain well provided with street art. Among the representatives of the street culture of the capital is the talented 23, author of the portrait of a grandfather reading the newspaper that decorates the wall of a vacant lot. For the passionate, the site culturetrip proposes a tour of the emblematic places of street art in Nicosia (https://theculturetrip.com/europe/cyprus/articles/a-street-art-tour-of-old-nicosia/).
