Merely Eastern: Aspects of Monumental painting in Rhodes ana the Dodecanese in the 13th c. Between East and West. Papers of Inter. Scientific Conference, Moscow 2021, Moscow 2023, 334-353 (original) (raw)

his paper aims to explore the artistic influence gained by the Nicene empire in the islands of the Aegean Sea during the first half of the 13th century. The insights about the painting of the islands of the Southeast Aegean emphasizes on Rhodes with some brilliant and monumental examples, such as the murals in the church of St. Phanourios in the Medieval Town, the main urban centre of the region, and in the katholikon of the monastery of St. Michael (Taxiarches) at Tharri. Both were linked to the Gavalas family rulers of the island of Rhodes and highlight the imported character of the art which, in keeping with historical realities, apparently originates from the empire of Nicaea and its endeavour to influence the islands in various ways. On a parallel way the Empire was connected with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on Patmos whose properties became symbols of imperial patronage and foci of settlements and also with local churches and community. Thus, the frescoes of the second layer of the Trapeza on Patmos, of St. John the Theologian at Lakki on Leros, a holding of the Patmos Monastery (?), and others in neighbouring Kos were executed during and probably financed by the Nicene regime. The gradual concentration of power by the Monastery offers the opportunity to read into the landscape of the Aegean islands under its influence and define identities in the region. All these surviving mural decorations constitute a visual vocabulary open to interpretation.