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Abgar of Edessa (Urfa) admiring the image of Christ
(أبجر الرها أورفة وهو يعجب بصورة المسيح)

Title	Abgar of Edessa (Urfa) admiring the image of Christ
Title Original	أبجر الرها أورفة وهو يعجب بصورة المسيح
Publication Date:	17th century, painted by Gottfried Ortlaub (documented 1675-1703 AD)
Publication Place	- Art History Museum
Subject	Oil on canvas
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Physical Dimensions	الارتفاع : 115 سم ، العرض : 98.7 سم ، العمق : 1.7 سم
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID	GG_2319
Record ID	object;EPM;at;Mus22;9;ar
Library Location	Art History Museum
Date	17th century, painted by Gottfried Ortlaub (documented 1675-1703 AD)
Notes	This painting brings together two versions of the letter of the legendary King Abgar V of Edessa, which dates back to ancient times. It is said that it was written to Christ to heal him from his illness. In his history of the Church of Eusebius of Caesarea (260/64 AD - approximately 339/40), he says that he discovered the message of Abgar and Christ's response in the archives of Edessa, and the Latin inscription of the plaque confirms his sending of the message. Eusebius says that Christ sent a disciple to Edessa, but the painting depicts a more famous form of the legend: the Abgar receiving a portrait of Christ who healed him. Its venerable name, Mendelion (or the image of Edessa), was said to be a mechanical copy of Christ’s features. In accordance with Baroque ideas, the artist reduced the distinctive shape of Christ's head in the first copies of the original, which has now been lost. The king's turpan is a reference to the eastern origin of the legend and its heroes.
Sample Text	“Abgar of Edessa (Urfa) admiring the image of Christ” within Discover the Collections of Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;at;Mus22;9;ar

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Abgar of Edessa (Urfa) admiring the image of Christ

(أبجر الرها أورفة وهو يعجب بصورة المسيح)

Publication Date 17th century, painted by Gottfried Ortlaub (documented 1675-1703 AD)

Publication Place - Art History Museum

Subject Oil on canvas

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Physical Dimensions الارتفاع : 115 سم ، العرض : 98.7 سم ، العمق : 1.7 سم

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Library Asset ID GG_2319

Record ID object;EPM;at;Mus22;9;ar

Library Location Art History Museum

Date 17th century, painted by Gottfried Ortlaub (documented 1675-1703 AD)

Notes This painting brings together two versions of the letter of the legendary King Abgar V of Edessa, which dates back to ancient times. It is said that it was written to Christ to heal him from his illness. In his history of the Church of Eusebius of Caesarea (260/64 AD - approximately 339/40), he says that he discovered the message of Abgar and Christ's response in the archives of Edessa, and the Latin inscription of the plaque confirms his sending of the message. Eusebius says that Christ sent a disciple to Edessa, but the painting depicts a more famous form of the legend: the Abgar receiving a portrait of Christ who healed him. Its venerable name, Mendelion (or the image of Edessa), was said to be a mechanical copy of Christ’s features. In accordance with Baroque ideas, the artist reduced the distinctive shape of Christ's head in the first copies of the original, which has now been lost. The king's turpan is a reference to the eastern origin of the legend and its heroes.

Sample Text “Abgar of Edessa (Urfa) admiring the image of Christ” within Discover the Collections of Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;at;Mus22;9;ar