Sacred Art & Iconography
Jesus Being Portrayed by King Abgar's Painter (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1602-4)
Gum tempera, ink, color and gold on paper, Mughal India, 1602 to 1604, Cleveland Museum of Art
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A folio from a Mir'at al-quds, a Persian life of Christ, made for the Mughal court at Allahabad between 1602 and 1604. It shows Jesus seated under a lamp while a painter, sent by King Abgar of Edessa to obtain a portrait as a cure for his illness, kneels attempting to paint him. Jesus instead presses his face to cloth, producing the image that became known as the Mandylion. Abgar himself is named in the story but does not appear in the scene. Held today by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Cross-Tradition Connections
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Depicts
Abgar of Edessa, Figures The museum's own description names King Abgar of Edessa as the one who sent the artist shown kneeling before Jesus, but confirms Abgar himself does not appear in the composition, so this is his story engaged rather than his likeness shown.
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