Obnovljeno slikarstvo Pećke priprate

Abstract

The restoration of the Peć Patriarchate in 1557 brought about a new spiritual revival for the Serbian people. Serbian art entered a period of great renewal. The Serbian Orthodox Church, with significant autonomy from Turkish rule, played a decisive role in organizing the restoration of Serbian churches that had been destroyed and in initiating new endeavors with strong leaders. Patriarch Makarije Sokolović (1557-1571) first focused on the restoration of the most damaged part of the church, which was the narthex built during the time of Archbishop Danilo II (1324-1337).The fresco painting of the Peć narthex, which had been preserved in fragments, was restored and adorned with new wall surfaces. Thanks to a preserved inscription found on the northern wall of the narthex, we know that the painting began in 1564 and continued until September 8, 1565. Several painters, belonging to the same workshop, led by the painter Andreja, participated in the restoration. Among these painters was Longin, who later became the most significant Serbian painter of the second half of the 16th century.In the twelve bays of the narthex, six eastern and six western, on the columns and the arch intradoses, a large number of figures and scenes were depicted. Approximately seventy standing figures, numerous busts and medallions, a cycle of Ecumenical Councils, a calendar, and several compositions on the vault of the western part of the narthex with representations of Christ's life and Gospel parables were presented. The entire wall decoration of the Peć narthex represented a stylistically harmonious whole. Since the time of Patriarch Makarije, the Serbian Patriarchate, as a spiritual center and unifying force of the Serbian people, became a center of Serbian artistic creation in the centuries that followed.