Provincial art in Epirus and Macedonia in the 16th century: influences, interactions, origins, models (original) (raw)

2013, Byzantinische Zeitschrift

Hagios Nikolaos in the village of Theriakisi, 25 km south of Ioannina, is a case of a minor undocumented provincial monument belonging to the great development of local mural painting in Epirus at the end of the 16 c. Inside, the church is full of frescoes, though with significant damage on the southern wall. The iconographic program is limited to the basic scenes from the life of Christ which decorate the upper zones of the walls. In this program, dogmatic themes dominate. This is particularly obvious if we interpret the meaning of the other representations in conjunction with the Ἄνωθεν οἱ Προφῆται: Elisabeth and Mary’s embrace projects the message of the Incarnation. The most important characteristic of the iconography of Saint Nicholas in Theriakisi is the undeniable similarity with the art of West Macedonia in the 16 c., as noticed at some other provincial monuments of this era in Epirus. Adresse: Katerina Kontopanagou, Pedini Ioannina, P.O. box 363, 45500 Ioannina, Greece;

The Christian Monuments of Epirus in the 17th and 18th c.: Creating the Artistic, Social and Economic Profile.

2016

The artistic activity in the Region of Epirus during the last two centuries of the post byzantine period was significant. The number of the regional and provincial monuments grows impressively after the second half of the 17th century and especially during the last decades of the 18th century. The increasing of the monuments after the first decade of 17th century is impressive. The multiple influences and the artistic trends at the mural paintings of these two centuries reflect the social and economic activity context. The study and insight of the period’s mural art, offers multi level recognition findings, of the society itself. Remarkable data are being collected regarding the artistic activity, the migration and the education of the painters, the significant role and the nature of the donors, as well as the networks and the artistic influence between Epirus and the rest of the Balkans and the West.

POST PAINTING SUPPLEMENT ON THE ICON ‘HOLLY TRINITY’ (1813/4) FROM THE KARPENSKI MONASTERY IN KUMANOVO, R.MACEDONIA

Abstract The icon Holy Trinity belongs to a grouping of icons from the Karpensky monastery-Kumanovo, dated from the 16 th century. These icons distinguishthe manner of the Samokov painting school from earlier 19 th century, dated in the year of 1813/1814. The iconography identifies multy-system layer, characteristic for the traditional icon painting with the exceptional,gilded background. The lower part of the icon recorded some differences between the upper parts. Evidential border display the leveling of the grounds and also the tonality of the lower part, where gilded highlights lack from the garments. This difference directed the further researches about thepossible consequence of overpainting, very rare in this region in the period of 19 centuryso-calledMacedonianrenaissance. After conservation treatment and combined analyses (X-ray, tomographic, digital photos, micro chemical and XRFanalyses) we came with the conclusion that the lower part is a supplement done in a period afterwards, but not very long from the creation of the icon. That brought up a connotation that the same author used the same pattern and materials to recover the possible, current damages from the icon that occurred between. Over-paintings, post restoration interventions or corrections over the damages of the old icons have been common types of renovation, but unlike this supplement which is unique appearance during this period.

Examples of Icons with Western Influences in Iconography in the Art of Macedonia. Case Study of the Icon Virgin with Child (inv. no. 81) from the Ohrid Gallery of Icons, ICON 9, 2016

IKON 9

Abstract It was probably after King Dušan’s promotion to emperor that he and his wife Helena gifted the Church of Peribleptos in Ohrid with several icons, among which is an icon of the Virgin Mary with Child, inv. no. 81, now in the Ohrid Gallery of Icons, the subject of this paper. Behind the Virgin and Christ according to the stylistic and physical characteristics may be hidden the image of Empress Helena and her son Uroš. The portrait of the Virgin Mary and Empress Helena bear a striking resemblance if we refer to her portrait from Lesnovo church (1345). It is possible that the same master who painted Uroš in the fresco of Dečani may have painted the icon of the Virgin with Child. Dečani paintings in the narthex with the Nemanjić dynasty family tree date from 1347-1348 when Uroš was eleven or twelve. The icon was painted approximately around 1343-1344. Dečani’s main architect was a Franciscan monk Fra Vita from Kotor. An opinion has been expressed that the icon painter was a Byzantine artist working in the Adriatic region, from Dubrovnik, Kotor or Venice, but he could be a western artist, coming from Italy, more precisely from the Siena region. As for the royal portraits on the icon, it is not uncommon subject. There are several portraits of members of the Komnenian, Laskaridi and Palaeologan dynasties, who have been portrayed as saints and there are also many saints dressed like royals in the fresco painting in the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. Thus, the icon of the Holy Virgin with Child from the Ohrid Peribleptos church may be added to this series of royal portraits as a kind of Imitatio Christi.

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