Saint Cyprian – Antiqued Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Antiqued Lithograph of Saint Cyprian

Saint Cyprian (October 2) was a wealthy, noble philosopher from Carthage in Libya. He lived during the reign of Decius (249 – 251 AD) and practiced the magical arts in Antioch.

Once, a pagan named Aglaias fell in love with a Christian virgin named Justa. The young woman did not return his love, and he turned to the famous magician Cyprian. However, all of Cyprian’s magical tricks proved useless against the steadfast refusal of the Christian girl. Acknowledging the failure of his craft, he burned his magical books before Bishop Anthimus, asking to be baptized and become a priest.

He indeed rose through all the clerical ranks and was eventually elected Bishop of Carthage. He also took Justa with him, ordaining her as a deaconess and renaming her Justina. He showed apostolic zeal, which led to him being denounced to Decius. He was exiled to Antioch, where he was imprisoned and later to Nicomedia, where Claudius beheaded him along with Justina.

Their relics were taken by devout Christians and brought to Rome, where they were buried on the most prominent hill of the city.

Antiqued Lithograph: Characteristics

This particular image was created using the lithography technique, which is taught in the iconography workshops of Mount Athos and is also used by several monks to create exceptional works of art. In this case, the monk used a lithographed copy of Byzantine art and created the work following the traditional method of artificial aging. The lithography technique in iconography is essentially a printing technique.

Origin: Mount Athos