On the builders and painters active in Prilep, North Macedonia, in the late 13th сentury

Abstract

The research was prepared with the financial support of Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 20-18-00294, at the Research Institute for Theory and History of Architecture and Town Planning, branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia (Moscow). The paper analyses the particularities of architecture and murals in the churches of St. Demetrius and St. Nicholas in Prilep, North Macedonia. Both churches were built and painted in several phases, which generated various views on their attribution and dating in the scholarly literature. The authors argue that the last rebuilding of St. Demetrius church was done by the same crew that finished the construction of St. Nicholas church between 1284 and 1298. Many specific traits indicate that these builders came to Prilep from the central regions of the Despotate of Epirus. Analyzing painting style the authors conclude that one or two local painters were responsible for the murals in the altar zones of the two churches. There are also wall paintings belonging to other layers in the both churches. The master who finished the painting in the church of St. Nicholas in 1298 could be of Epirote origine, although some traits of his style reveal the knowledge of local trends in the art of Macedonia too.