PNT-00041 > The Mosque at Famagusta, Cyprus, watercolor, Francis Arundale (1807-1853), 1833
This watercolor by Francis Arundale is a view of the main square of the town of Famagusta. From left to right is the domed Muslim school. In front of it, and behind a shack, stand two Corinthian columns where legend has it Marcantonio Bragadin, the Venetian defender of the town, was flayed alive by the Ottomans in 1571. In the centre is the Latin Cathedral of St Nicholas (Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque) turned into a mosque and, in the background on the right, the ruins of the Orthodox church of St George of the Greeks. The colors of the buildings reflect not only the color of the local Cypriot limestone but also sadness and poverty, feelings strengthened by the absence of vegetation. Apart from some green in the inner courtyard of the Latin Cathedral of St Nicholas (Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque) and several palm trees in the background, there is no other vegetation. The straw-matted roofs of the huts in the courtyard and their humbleness accentuate the sense of desolation.
In the foreground, can be seen the water well of the town. Of the fourteen figures depicted, twelve are Turks. The Greeks were expelled from Famagusta after it fell to the Ottomans in 1571 and were not allowed to live within the walls or enter the town on horseback. Therefore, the figure riding a horse must be a Turkish dignitary led by his servant towards the Cathedral. The servant wears white pantaloons of the typical Turkish costume. A black man carries a pot on his shoulder and holds a child by the hand. The black man was probably a slave brought to Famagusta from either Turkey or Egypt since the town had become a penal colony for exiles and criminals.
The figure climbing the steps of the coffee shop on the right must have been a Muslim cleric, a hodja, identified by the long blue robes and white turban. More figures are sitting on the verandah of the coffee shop. All must have been Turks, as Greeks were not allowed to mingle with them. The only two figures that could be presumed Greek are the ones in the left corner of the picture, who are sitting far apart from the rest. They wear the Greek fustanella, a white and much-pleated skirt, white shirts under red and blue waistcoats and a red cap with a heavy black tassel on their heads. This costume is identical to that of the mainland Greeks, and people in Cyprus didn't use to wear it. Arundale used this group to pass on his perceptions about the two people on the island. The Greeks, being the subject people, are placed on the periphery of the scene.
The monuments in the picture, bathed in a haze, somehow relate to the historical realities of Cyprus in color and subtle representation. The painting is almost monochrome, with the yellow of the stone and the earth projecting a pervasive sense of desolation and degradation reflecting that period. Orthodox, Latin and Muslim monuments tell a story of the Christian past and the present desolation in a picturesque view loaded with associational meaning.
The 'Sneak Peek' series is supported by OPAP (Cyprus).
