Saint Luke of Steiris in the exonarthex of the church of the Treskavac monastery and his cult and representation in the middle ages

Abstract

The study investigates the portrayal of St. Luke of Steiris in the exonarthex of the church of the Treskavac Monastery (between 1334 and 1343), identified as St. Loukas the Stylite in earlier literature. Based on the extant representations, it is noticed that St. Luke of Steiris had a clearly defined appearance of face and clothing, but also that he was not often portrayed. A review of the development and expansion of his cult is provided by comparing artistic evidence and written sources. Finally, the paper asks from which of the major Byzantine centers of culture and art the practice of representing St. Luke of Steiris, with all the features common in his iconography, came to be accepted in the Serbian milieu, which seems to have occurred in the time of King Milutin (1282-1321).