Byzantine Fresco Chapel facts for kids
The exterior of the Byzantine Fresco Chapel in Houston
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| Established | September 1997, reopened 2015 |
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| Dissolved | 2011 |
| Location | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
The Byzantine Fresco Chapel is a special art space in Houston, Texas. It is part of the famous Menil Collection. For many years, it showed some very old and important Byzantine frescoes. These frescoes are large paintings made on wet plaster. They were the only complete ones of their kind in the Western world.
These amazing frescoes came from a church in Lysi, Cyprus. They were brought to the chapel in 1997. In 2012, the frescoes were sent back to Cyprus. This happened after a long agreement with the Church of Cyprus. The church owned the frescoes and decided not to let them stay longer. The frescoes are now displayed in a museum in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Byzantine Fresco Chapel closed in 2012. But it reopened in 2015 to show new art projects.
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The Chapel's Journey
The chapel first opened in February 1997. It displayed two incredible artworks from the 13th century. One was a dome painting of Christ Pantocrator. This shows Christ as the "All-sovereign" ruler. The other was an apse painting of the Virgin Mary, also called the Panagia.
These frescoes were stolen from a chapel in Cyprus in the 1980s. Thieves cut them into 38 pieces. They then shipped them to Germany to sell on the black market. The Menil Foundation in Houston bought these pieces. They did this on behalf of the Church of Cyprus, who were the true owners. The Menil Foundation then paid for the paintings to be carefully put back together. These restored frescoes were truly special. They were the only complete Byzantine frescoes of their kind outside of Cyprus.
What the Frescoes Showed
The main part of the collection was the dome and apse frescoes. The dome showed Christ Pantocrator. This means "All-sovereign" or "Ruler of All." The painting made the space feel endless. Christ's gaze was direct and powerful. It seemed to look beyond time itself.
Around Christ were two rows of angels. They were moving towards a special throne. This throne was prepared by God for the Second Coming of Christ. The Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel guarded the throne. Two seraphim also watched over it. The Virgin Mary led one line of angels. John the Baptist led the other.
In the apse, the Virgin Mary was shown. She had the two archangels by her side. A small picture of the infant Christ was on her chest. This symbolized the Incarnation of Christ. This means when God became human.
New Art at the Chapel
After the frescoes returned to Cyprus, the chapel started showing new art. One exhibit was called The Infinity Machine. This artwork was made by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. It had old mirrors hanging from the ceiling. It also played sounds from NASA recordings. These sounds were made by solar winds interacting with planets.
The Chapel's Unique Design
The building itself is very special. It is about 4,000 square feet (370 square meters). It cost $4 million to build. The famous architect François de Menil designed it. The inside uses rough stone, frosted glass, and rich woods. This mix creates a space that feels like both an art museum and a spiritual place.
The "walls" inside are made of hanging glass. They are not exact copies of the original church in Cyprus. Instead, they create a new way to show the artworks. De Menil wanted to avoid just copying the old chapel. So, he designed a "reliquary box." This is an outer building with a steel frame. It forms a neutral space for the chapel inside. It's like a special container for precious items.
François de Menil said in 1997: "The Byzantine Chapel Museum is a religious building. Its goal is to bring back the spiritual meaning of two 13th-century Byzantine Frescoes. These were saved and restored by the owner. The original chapel's materials are broken up and made light. This is done through the glass structure. It is an idea of the original chapel. The endlessness is shown through how light and darkness play."
The Byzantine chapel faces the main directions: north, south, east, and west. The inside space is about 116,000 cubic feet (3,285 cubic meters). There are no windows on the sides of the building. But there is a large skylight on the roof. It is about 1,012 square feet (94 square meters) of clear glass. This lets natural light fill the inside. A rough limestone wall on the outside of the building reminds visitors of the simple church in Cyprus.
See also
- John de Menil
- Dominique de Menil
