Tobben met Job. De iconografie van een wandschildering in het klooster van St. Macarius in de Wadi Natrun (Egypte)

Abstract

In contrast to the Byzantine situation, Old Testament subjects are often found as part of the decoration of the altar room in Coptic churches dating from the Fatimid to the early Mamluk period (ca. 1000-1300 A.D.). The question is why were these Old Testament motifs chosen in Christian Egypt? The basis for this research is the theory that the function of the room dictates the choice of the decoration. Following from this, the depicted scenes are meant to symbolise and explain the function of the altar room. The latter is made clear through the liturgy: the celebration of the Eucharist in commemoration of Christ's Sacrifice. However, before we can ask why a certain scene is chosen, it is essential that the subjects depicted are identified carefully. In several cases this poses a major difficulty due to the fragmentary state of some paintings. This article is centered on one of these problems. The altar room (haykal in Arabic) dedicated to Saint Mark in the great church of the monastery of Saint Macarius in the Wadi Natrun, an oasis to the north-west of Cairo, was once completely decorated with wall paintings. At present, only a part of this cycle is left. Some fragments are difficult to identify, for example, the pictorial remains on the spandrels of the southwestern arch of the octogon. According to Jules Leroy, these fragments can be identified as "Job, his wife and his friends". However, Leroy has his doubts: are we dealing with one scene spread over two spandrels, or does each spandrel contain a separate image? A more extensive research, using extra documentary and reference material, makes clear that each spandrel contains a separate scene from the book of Job.