Icon of Apostles Peter and Paul with a cross

Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece

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Material: Wood, Tempera paint, Gold leaf (implied)
Date range: Late 14th century AD
Origin: Unknown

This is a rectangular wooden icon depicting the two principal Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, flanking a central cross. The painting is in an advanced state of wear, showing deep cracks (craquelure) and areas where the paint and gold leaf have flaked away, revealing the underlying wood, particularly between the two figures. The background of the icon is finished in gold leaf, though much of it is now tarnished or lost.

The two apostles are presented in a traditional Byzantine style, facing inwards towards the central cross. Saint Peter, on the left, is depicted with a short, tightly curled beard, wearing a green tunic and a light-colored himation (cloak). Saint Paul, on the right, is shown with a receding hairline and a long, pointed beard, wearing a reddish-brown garment over a light-colored tunic. Both figures hold scrolls or pieces of fabric in their hands, suggesting their role as writers and teachers of the Gospel. The cross that stands between them is simple, with a small medallion at the intersection of the arms. This icon is explicitly described as a symbolic representation of the union of the Western Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church, a theological concept that gained artistic expression in the Late 14th century AD.

Museum label reference: Icon of the Apostles Peter and Paul with a cross. Symbolic representation of the union of the Western Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Late 14th c. BXM 999

Original Text: Εικόνα των αποστόλων Πέτρου και Παύλου με σταυρό. Συμβολική αναπαράσταση της ένωσης, των Εκκλησιών, της Δυτικής Καθολικής και της Ανατολικής Ορθόδοξης. Τέλη 14ου αι. BXM 999

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Icon of the Apostles Peter and Paul with a cross, symbolic of the union of the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches

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Source:  Athens, Greece