Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine
The village of Dinecik in the Çine district of Türkiye’s Aydın province has a single scene depicting the birth of Jesus among the Byzantine wall paintings on the mass rock. This depiction of the Nativity of Jesus is the only surviving Nativity scene among paintings of Latmos, Yatagan, and the southe...
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Istanbul University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Sanat Tarihi Yıllığı |
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| author | Hatice Özyurt Özcan |
| author_facet | Hatice Özyurt Özcan |
| author_sort | Hatice Özyurt Özcan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The village of Dinecik in the Çine district of Türkiye’s Aydın province has a single scene depicting the birth of Jesus among the Byzantine wall paintings on the mass rock. This depiction of the Nativity of Jesus is the only surviving Nativity scene among paintings of Latmos, Yatagan, and the southern Carian coasts close to Çine. Because the Cappadocian wall paintings have the widest range of subjects among the paintings in Anatolia, they were influential in this study’s iconographic analysis of the Nativity painting. The scene consists of many episodes covering a large surface, and while a significant portion has survived, especially the hands and faces of the figures, the fact that some of the depictions have been largely destroyed makes it difficult to make a sound evaluation. Still, a detailed examination of the work was able to be made with what remained of some of the scenes that provide period clues. The center of the depiction shows the baby Jesus and Mary. To the right of Mary on a square cradle with long legs is the baby Jesus with a halo on his head, wrapped in white swaddling cloth. Behind the cradle are figures of oxen and donkeys. Joseph is in the lower right corner of the scene seated on a chair with his back to Mary. The first bathing scene in the lower left corner of the stage shows the midwives who will wash Jesus. The upper left section of the scene is understood from the remaining fragments to involve shepherds; however, most of them have been destroyed. The upper right corner has the figure of an angel and the three soothsayers. The scene contains a crowded compositional arrangement that brings together episodes such as the Prophet Kings, the Adoration of the Shepherds, and the First Bath, each being depicted as a separate scene after the depiction of the Nativity in the early period as a style that had become widespread in the paintings of the Cappadocia region toward the end of the 10th century. The fact that Mary didn’t begin being depicted in a semi-sitting position in nativity scenes with her head aimed at Jesus in the cradle until after the 10th century and that the technical and stylistic features commonly applied to 11th-century buildings had also been used in the depiction at Dinecik indicates the painting to have bene painted by local craftsmen in the late 10th and mid-11th centuries with regional characteristics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b45a73dc87e84ea5aa36cfd3f9c4031a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2717-6940 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sanat Tarihi Yıllığı |
| spelling | doaj-art-b45a73dc87e84ea5aa36cfd3f9c4031a2025-08-20T02:14:23ZdeuIstanbul University PressSanat Tarihi Yıllığı2717-69402023-06-013243145110.26650/sty.2023.1224719123456Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in ÇineHatice Özyurt Özcan0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0826-3633Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, Mugla, TurkiyeThe village of Dinecik in the Çine district of Türkiye’s Aydın province has a single scene depicting the birth of Jesus among the Byzantine wall paintings on the mass rock. This depiction of the Nativity of Jesus is the only surviving Nativity scene among paintings of Latmos, Yatagan, and the southern Carian coasts close to Çine. Because the Cappadocian wall paintings have the widest range of subjects among the paintings in Anatolia, they were influential in this study’s iconographic analysis of the Nativity painting. The scene consists of many episodes covering a large surface, and while a significant portion has survived, especially the hands and faces of the figures, the fact that some of the depictions have been largely destroyed makes it difficult to make a sound evaluation. Still, a detailed examination of the work was able to be made with what remained of some of the scenes that provide period clues. The center of the depiction shows the baby Jesus and Mary. To the right of Mary on a square cradle with long legs is the baby Jesus with a halo on his head, wrapped in white swaddling cloth. Behind the cradle are figures of oxen and donkeys. Joseph is in the lower right corner of the scene seated on a chair with his back to Mary. The first bathing scene in the lower left corner of the stage shows the midwives who will wash Jesus. The upper left section of the scene is understood from the remaining fragments to involve shepherds; however, most of them have been destroyed. The upper right corner has the figure of an angel and the three soothsayers. The scene contains a crowded compositional arrangement that brings together episodes such as the Prophet Kings, the Adoration of the Shepherds, and the First Bath, each being depicted as a separate scene after the depiction of the Nativity in the early period as a style that had become widespread in the paintings of the Cappadocia region toward the end of the 10th century. The fact that Mary didn’t begin being depicted in a semi-sitting position in nativity scenes with her head aimed at Jesus in the cradle until after the 10th century and that the technical and stylistic features commonly applied to 11th-century buildings had also been used in the depiction at Dinecik indicates the painting to have bene painted by local craftsmen in the late 10th and mid-11th centuries with regional characteristics.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/32734FEE8FDF413F9EF154F1EB3A5E7Bjesusnativitymaryapocryphalsoothsayers |
| spellingShingle | Hatice Özyurt Özcan Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine Sanat Tarihi Yıllığı jesus nativity mary apocryphal soothsayers |
| title | Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine |
| title_full | Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine |
| title_fullStr | Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine |
| title_short | Studies on the 'Nativity of Jesus' Scene in a Rock Mass in Çine |
| title_sort | studies on the nativity of jesus scene in a rock mass in cine |
| topic | jesus nativity mary apocryphal soothsayers |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/32734FEE8FDF413F9EF154F1EB3A5E7B |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT haticeozyurtozcan studiesonthenativityofjesussceneinarockmassincine |