“Sacred Images” in the Interior of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Great Church: the Factual System of Sacral Murals, 1897 – 1901

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific circulation documents presenting the factual system of sacred compositions 1897 – 1901 in the interior of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Dormition Cathedral (Great Church). The research methodology is synthesis of historical and cultural analysis, as well as art study analysis. Scientific novelty. The author has introduced the album of drawings by the artist Andrii Lakov into scientific circulation: “V. І. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. Lakov A. A. The album of plans and detailed drawings the inside of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Great Church showing the locations of sacred images. 1905. Paper, mixed technique. 19 sheets”. Based on this document, the author has performed three research tasks using examples. First, she reconstructed the system of sacral murals of the Church’s compartment. Second, she revealed the difference between the project and the actual mural. Third, she improved and determined the location of a number of compositions. The author has revealed the important theoretical and practical significance of the album as a presentation of the factual system of sacred compositions of 1897 – 1901 in the interior of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Great Church (Dormition Cathedral). Conclusions. The album of drawings by the artist Andriі Lakov (1905) presents the factual system of sacral mural painting of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Great Church (Dormition Cathedral) of the late 19th – early 20th century. The album permits the determination of the compositions’ location on architectural surface. It is the evidence that artists partially changed the project in terms of the location of some compositions. This album provides an opportunity for the authentic historical reconstruction of the Cathedral’s painting decoration.
 Keywords: sacral culture, Orthodoxy, sacral mural painting, Ukrainian painting, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Great Church, Dormition Cathedral, Andrii Lakov.