Museum at Home

24 May 2021

The Kyrenia Pass

Maurice Feuillet, The Kyrenia Pass, 1903, Drawing with pencil and sepia, Collection of Costas and Rita Severis Foundation

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Maurice Feuillet, a well-known French artist, illustrator, and journalist, came to Cyprus around 1903 and happened to pass from the trail connecting Nicosia and Kyrenia which inspired him to make this drawing.

Activity one: The Mysterious Pass

Did you know…

150 years ago, roads were very different from today’s: they were paved with soil, stones, and gravel, they were narrow and often dangerous, and certainly less than today. Moving around was not done with cars, motorbikes, and bicycles, but with carriages, carts, and animals.

Since medieval times, the cities of Nicosia and Kyrenia were connected with a mysterious road, known as the ‘Kyrenia Pass’, the ‘Boguz’, or the ‘St Catherine Pass’. This road was passing from Pentadachtylos mountain and the huge rock that you see in the drawing, defines the turning point from the mountain towards the sea, exactly at the point where anyone travelling would have the first glimpse of the latter.

Now close your eyes and imagine that you are the donkey in the painting:

  • What do you see around you?
  • What do you see opposite you?
  • What is the weather like?
  • What is your name?
  • What is the name of your owner?
  • What are you carrying?
  • How do you feel?
  • What is the child behind you running to catch?
  • What can you hear?
  • Are the passers-by talking?

Activity two: Once upon a time…

There are four different characters in the painting as well as some natural elements such as a rock, a mountain a palm tree, and a donkey.

Choose one or more images and try thinking, writing, or recording short stories for each of the characters beginning with these phrases:

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  • Wearing a hat and a pair of shoes, Gregoris decided to travel from Kyrenia to Nicosia on foot, crossing the “Pass”. On his way, he met…

3. The Kyrenia Pass - museum at home - Mother_and_child.jpg

  • Young Angelos was very happy because today was the day he and his mother would be going on an adventure. They would be going…
4. The Kyrenia Pass - museum at home - Donkey_and_peasant.jpg

  • Once upon a time, a small white donkey lived on a farm outside Kyrenia. He always dreamed of…

5. The Kyrenia Pass - museum at home - Palm_tree.jpg

  • Tall and haughty, the old palm tree watched everything that happened on the “Pass”. On a very windy day…

6. The Kyrenia Pass - museum at home - Rock_plant.jpg

  • On the edge of the huge rock once grew a small plant. Hanging high above the road, it could see everything. One day it saw…

We will read or listen to your stories with great interest if you send them to us at education@severis.org

Activity three: Adding colour

The artist chose to create his drawing with pencil and sepia. How do you think the drawing would look if it had colour?

You can print the drawing HERE several times and experiment with different colours: for example, how would the road look in the morning, at noon, or late in the afternoon? And how would it change according to the seasons?


Challenge

Imagine and paint a mysterious road through which you happened to pass. Where was this road and what was it that made it so mysterious?

Send us your painting at education@severis.org

Visit the museum

We would love to welcome you to the museum! Inspired by the painting of Maurice Feuillet, you can explore CVAR’s four floors and look for paintings that feature roads and choose your favourite one.

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