ABSTRACT
In Cyprus, the masterpieces produced before and at the moment of the Latin establishment were used as models for local painters who worked during the thirteenth century. As a former Byzantine island, Cyprus remained mostly populated by Greeks after the Frankish settlement of 1192. Eastern Christians from various social strata became increasingly numerous in Cyprus after the takeover by Guy de Lusignan. The population movement continued and incoming refugees must have been particularly numerous in the second half of the thirteenth century, following the loss of Christian-held cities in Syria and Palestine to the Muslims. The woman’s kneeling position and her upright posture with hands clasped in prayer is typical in western Christian iconography. Cyprus, eastern Christians occupied prominent posts in the royal administration and played a key role in trade, an area in which they excelled and which ultimately made them rich.
