Iconographic Program Research Articles

Ukrainian baroque iconostasis and liturgical structuring of the monastery space

Baroque iconostases of Ukraine with thematic iconographies have repeatedly come to the attention of researchers. This refers to iconostases that did not contain the composition Deesis and other images necessary for the year-round cycle of divine services. Instead of the traditional complex of icons, such iconostases contained images that fully covered the theme of the consecration of the altar. The preserved monuments are described in sufficient detail, but the motives and meanings of implementing such programmes have not yet been convincingly explained. The study offers a new look at the reasons for the appearance and symbolic meaning of thematic iconographic programmes of Ukrainian iconostases of the Baroque era. The meaning of introducing edited iconographic programmes is reconstructed using the hierotopic method. Its application identified that the development of thematic iconographies was based on a spatial iconographic concept in which the programmes of several iconostases interacted. The study showed that thematic iconographies were common in the iconostases of side chapels, while the main iconostasis contained all the necessary complex of images, including the Deesis composition. It is established that the introduction of thematic iconography for the main iconostasis was possible only for the monastery church, which in this case was understood as a chapel relative to the central iconostasis of the cathedral church of the monastery. In this carefully designed image system, the icon complexes of the iconostases of side altars and other monastic churches interacted with the iconographic programme of the iconostasis of the main altar in real space. The implementation of such a project expanded the liturgical space of the main church, covering the monastery complex. Therewith, symbolic meanings associated with the image of the temple in the Christian tradition were transferred to the monastery. The proposed reconstruction explains the lack of practice of creating thematic iconographies for the iconostases of the main altars in parish churches

"ЗЕРЦАЛО ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКОГО СПАСЕНИЯ" В МОНУМЕНТАЛЬНОЙ ЖИВОПИСИ ВОСТОЧНОЙ ПРУССИИ: ВИЗУАЛЬНАЯ ИНТЕРТЕКСТУАЛЬНОСТЬ

This research is dedicated to two rare cycles of monumental painting from the second half of the 14th century, in the interior of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) Cathedral and St. Catherine’s Church in Arnau (Rodniki, Kaliningrad region). Although these monuments are almost completely lost, their reconstruction based on available photo documents, sketches, and descriptions carries a special value towards understanding the visual intertextuality of the Speculum humanae salvationis iconographic program in the symbolic context of the architectural space of the two churches. Contrary to the monumental cycles of Europe sharing this iconography, here in these two the zoning of space for knights and townspeople plays an important role. The study concludes that the manuscript miniatures from Wolfenbüttel HAB 2805 and the East Prussian mural cycles have a common protograph of the “Italian” or “mixed” type in an abbreviated edition (“Cologne group”), which can be traced back to an earlier prototgraph (of the “Italian” type), used in the Darmstadt Codex Hs. 2505. The interest of the patrons in the iconographic program, which preaches the dignity of the priesthood, could be associated with the relationship between the clergy of the Samland diocese and the Teutonic Knights engaged in northern crusades.

Između izuzetnosti i tradicije - slike sabora i Tajne večere i posveta crkve u Sopoćanima

The paper examines a part of the iconographic program in the narthex of the representative church, endowed by the Serbian king Uroš I and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. With its layout, the program is linked to the central field of the wall above the entrance to the nave and bears the characteristics of the focal point of the corresponding whole. It includes a thematic segment with a group of representations that, based on today's knowledge of painted material, can be classified as novelties and exceptional solutions. The cycle of Ecumenical Councils, with the attached depiction of a Serbian council, and the Last Supper, as the core of the group, are viewed from an angle from which they were not illuminated before. The unusual selection of scenes and the unique composition of the thematic group become clearer when one considers the scenes' place on the line that connects three important 'points' of Sopoćani's spatial and programmatic structure on the west-east axis. The 'council wall', with the Last Supper in its 'heart' communicates topographically, visually and semantically with the representation of Pentecost, which signalled the 'identity of the holy place' on the original 'face' of the building in Sopoćani (altered by later painting), at the entrance to the narthex. Moreover, the painted wall is in an equally multiple (topographical, visual, and semantic) correlation with the themes that mark the iconographic program in the sanctuary and around the opening leading into it. Apart from the repeated representation of the Pentecost, this time with a position on the wall field above the opening of the sanctuary apse, and apart from the typological representation of the Holy Trinity, situated in the eastern half of the south choir's vault, the representations in the central part of the apse are particularly relevant for observations about the parallelism and special complementarity of the themes in the sanctuary and the narthex. This is a unity consisting of a 'liturgical' variant of the Last Supper (i.e., Communion of the Apostles) and two scenes of the Appearance of the Risen Christ to the Apostles, identified with the theme of the Sending out of the Apostles-all in the same register-as well as the composition of Officiating Church Fathers in the register below, which as their coevals also includes archbishops of the Serbian Church, positioned immediately below the rendering of the Apostolic Mission. The resulting findings of the present study is the existence of a special connection of the thematic repertoire with the dedication of the church and the reception of that connection as a kind of starting point in the process of envisaging and shaping a whole with a multi-layered meaning. As it appears, a conventional framework was consciously chosen and used as an 'undercover' for additional, daring allusions.

ЦИКЛ АКАФИСТА В АЛТАРНОЙ РОСПИСИ МАРКОВА МОНАСТЫРЯ

The author analyzed the iconography of the fresco cycle of the Akathist to the Mother of God of the 14th century from Markov Monastery in Macedonia and its connection with liturgical theology. Location of the hymn illustrations above the symbolic scene of the Divine Liturgy differs from numerous similar cycles in monumental ensembles of the 14th century. Illustrations of Akathist Hymn known since the end of the 13th century, and the Divine Liturgy which became widespread in the Paleologian era in the monuments of Serbia are presented in the painting of the Markov Monastery in visual comparison. The meaning of this painting programme allows to understand the work of the Byzantine theologian of the second half of the 14th century Nicholas Kavasila, dedicated to the interpretation of the liturgy. Without insisting on the direct influence of Byzantine texts on the iconographic programme of the frescoes, it can be argued that the general ideas of hesychasm typical to Byzantine and Slavic theologians and painters of this time were the source of new visual interpretations that offered imagery representations of the history of human salvation. Iconography of the illustrations of the Akathist Hymn, the Great Entrance and Proskomidia in the context of the symbolic and historical interpretation of the liturgy were researched.

Revisiting the Veljusa frescoes: Notes on the iconographic program of the south parekklesion

The paper discusses the iconographic program of the frescoes in the south parekklesion of the Church of the Virgin Eleousa at the Veljusa Monastery, the foundation of Manuel, Bishop of Strumitza, built in 1080. It focuses on the figure of St. Niphon or, more specifically, the cult and iconography of this saint, whose representations in art are quite uncommon. It considers several images of St. Niphon in Serbian medieval painting that previous research has failed to take into account. Then, it reexamines the view that this saint was the patron of the chapel, especially the claim that one of his visions was painted in the apse.

Первый этап росписи церкви Андрея Стратилата в новгородском Детинце

The article begins with the history of St. Andrew Stratelates Church in Veliky Novgorod. It is shown that today’s church dedicated to St. Andrew was originally built as a chapel of the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Novgorod Detinets. The St. Andrew Stratelates Church now stands alone in the south-eastern part of Novgorod Detinets, but until 1682 it was the south-ern chapel of the Boris and Gleb Cathedral. Its earliest part was erected at the former location of cathedral’s staircase tower. The initial church, as the paper suggests, was constructed to com-memorate the capture of Swedish Landskrona fortress in 1301 by the army of Prince Andrey III Alexandrovich. It was later rebuilt by Euthymius II, the Archbishop of Novgorod, likely in 1441, simultaneously with rebuilding the Boris and Gleb Cathedral “on its old foundation”. Then the paper turns to the description and analysis of what remains today of the initial iconographic pro-gram of the original St. Andrew Stratelates Church, namely a composition with nine images of saints in the lower part of the northern wall, which belongs to the earliest period of painting. On the right we see the Apostle Peter, an Archangel (Michael?) and the Apostle Paul being blessed by Christ. In the background stand a few praying figures: St. Andrew Stratelates, the patron saint of the church, as well as the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, passion bearers princes Boris and Gleb, and two unidentified holy women. The composition was likely to be created after 1494, when the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Novgorod burned again. Although the origins of the mural remain unknown, a connection with the capture of the Landskrona for-tress is a likely possibility. Indeed, St. Andrew Stratelates Church was first constructed in 1302, i. e., a year following the capture of Landskrona, and it was initially integrated into the Boris and Gleb Cathedral which speaks for itself in view of military overtones of the cult of Boris and Gleb.

БОЛЬШОЙ ВЫНОСНОЙ КРЕСТ В РОССИИ XVII-XVIII ВВ.

The article deals with the phenomenon of creating new shrines in the form of large altar crosses and their cult in Russia in the 17th– 18th centuries. The work was carried out within the framework of the problematic of visual history associated with the study of the relationship between “symbolic forms” and various social and cultural “languages” of society (J.-C. Schmitt). The big cross was present in the temple interior and religious rituals of Old Russia from the first centuries of Christianization. But creating original, and not just copying Byzantine samples, monuments of such a type is associated with the activities of Patriarch Nikon. As comparatively recent studies show, the autocratic tsarist government also took part in that. Particular attention is paid to the two crosses, being the most interesting and well-preserved and famous of the newly created in the era of the first Romanovs, they however, were not considered in the same historical and cultural context. Those are the Cross of Kiy-Island of Patriarch Nikon and the “Korsun Cross” from the St. Nikolas Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky. The first is at the origins of a new tradition, the second completes its formation already at the beginning of the 18th century. Both recreate the image of the victorious Cross of Constantine, but go back to different models – the sacred prototype of the Cross of the Lord (Cross of Kiy-Island) and the legendary Korsun shrine of Prince Vladimir (the cross from St. Nikolas Monastery). An analysis of the history of their origin and unique iconographic programs shows the variability in the veneration of the Holy Cross in Russia in the 17th– 18th centuries

Editorial Introduction

Editorial Introduction

Дьявол или вервольф? Мотив оборотничества во французской демонологии XV–XVI вв.

The article analyzes the features of the treatise “Justification of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy” by Jean Petit (1408), which argued for the right of John the Fearless to murder his cousin Louis of Orleans. The author of the article pays special attention to the accusation of practicing witchcraft, which, according to Petit, turned the Duke of Orleans into a tyrant and a devil and was based, apparently, on the text of the “Policraticus” of John of Salisbury (1159). Analysis of the content and the iconographic program of the “Justification” also allows the author to hypothesize that this treatise marked the beginning of a completely new perception of the lycanthrope in French, and perhaps in all European demonological literature of the 15th–16th centuries: as a dangerous werewolf, that is, as a person whose penchant for practicing witchcraft did not simply lead him into the clutches of the devil, but turned him into a beast that posed a threat to the entire community of true Christians. Thus, the political and legal treatise of Jean Petit, as it has always been considered in historiography, acquired at the same time the features of a demonological text.

Il lungo Cinquecento nelle volte dell’aristocrazia Giovanni Andrea dell’Anguillara al servizio di un Perseo ‘genovese’

This contribution aims to analyse a cycle of frescoes at villa Spinola di San Pietro in Genoa. The paintings are attributed to some of the greatest artists who worked in the city in the 1620s and show a continuity of compositional, stylistic and thematic features that were typical of the sixteenth century. This article will also show the importance of Giovanni Andrea dell’Anguillara’s vernacular translation of the Metamorphoses by Ovid to the iconographic programme of the cycle.

Църквата „Св. Атанасий“ в село Горна Рибница, Благоевградска област, и нейните дидактични сюжети

The article analyzes eight didactic plots in the plinth of the church’s iconostasis that replace the Hexameron. The cycle of moral scenes covers the following motives: wrong confession and punishment of violators; the power of “magic water” and the sorceress’s healing; the story of Abraham (Hospitality of Abraham) and his sacrifice; the punishment of the miller; elements of the compositions “The Last Judgment” and “A Measure of Righteousness”. The author also comments on the change in the place of didactic topics in the iconographic programme of the church.

«Божией милостью» и «общим иждивением»: иконографическая программа и стиль заказных икон калужского купца М.А. Макарова

The article is devoted to two unique icons commissioned by the Kaluga merchant Mikhail Makarov to commemorate the water pipe with a fountain built with his efforts in Kaluga. The first icon was executed in 1829 and solemnly installed in the City Duma of Kaluga. In 1837, M. Makarov ordered to paint its copy, which was kept in the family of his descendants until 1937. Unfortunately, only the last icon has survived and is now reposited in the State Museum of the History of Religion (St. Petersburg). The iconographic analysis and historical evidence of veneration of the lost original allow establishing the intent of the customer. The composition of the icons has no direct protographs, although some icon pieces influenced its formation (for example, Marian iconography of “Joy of all Who Sorrow” and “The Life-Giving Spring”). The non-typical iconographic idea of the customer forced the icon painter to resort to a set of artistic means unusual for icon painting. On the one hand, the masterpiece demonstrates the traditional methods of Kaluga icon painting of the late Nicholas I Empire era, but on the other hand, the influence of the provincial pictorial primitive is clearly noticeable. The icon executed by the merchant Makarov’s order in 1837 is a unique artwork in terms of its iconographic program and artistic performance. Due to the reliable date of creation and the confirmed Kaluga origin, the icon from the State Museum of the History of Religion occupies an important place in the history of Kaluga icon painting.

Review: Philip II of Spain and the Architecture of Empire

Review: <i>Philip II of Spain and the Architecture of Empire</i>

Epigrafi, armi, trofei. Il palazzo del cardinale Bonifacio Bevilacqua a Ferrara (1601)

The essay focuses on the ‘talking’ façade of Palazzo Bevilacqua in Ferrara, lavishly decorated by trophies, panoplies, and eight mottos in Latin.&#x0D; The text is divided into three parts. The first is dedicated to the analysis of the palace, with particular attention to the iconographic programme sculpted on the façade, refashioned by the cardinal Bonifacio Bevilacqua in 1601. The second focuses on the interpretation of the epigraphs in relation to the antiquarian culture of the city. The third proposes the reconstruction of the cultural biography of the patron of the building.&#x0D; Through the analysis of published and unpublished documents and sources, the essay proposes the first in-depth investigation of Palazzo Bevilacqua, in order to place it in the artistic and cultural context of Ferrara, where the new political establishment – a few years after the Devolution to the Papal State (1598) – coexisted with the cultural legacy forged by the duke Alfonso II d’Este (1559-1597) and his entourage of antiquarians Enea Vico, Agostino Mosti and Pirro Ligorio.

Artwork Analysis of Anastasis Fresco at Khora South Chapel and Its Interaction with the Architectural Program

Bu makalede Kariye Manastırı güney şapelinde yer alan Anastasis freskinin ikonografik olarak çözümlenmesi ve bu yapıtın yapının mimari programıyla kurduğu ilişkinin irdelenmesi hedeflenmiştir. İlk olarak eserin yer aldığı Kariye (Khora) Manastırı mimari nitelikleri bakımından incelenmiştir. Eserin sanatçısı ve hamisi hakkında bilgi verilmesinin ardından, esere konu olan Anastasis temasının mitolojik kökeni irdelenmiştir. Anastasis freskinin yapımında kullanılan tekniğin özgün tarafları ortaya konmuştur. Yapıtın ikonografik çözümlemesi yapılırken Erwin Panofsky’nin geliştirdiği yöntemden faydalanılmıştır. Bu kapsamda Anastasis freski incelenirken ilk olarak biçimsel analizi yapılarak kompozisyonda yer alan figürlerin birbirleriyle ilişkileri irdelenmiş; ikinci aşamada teolojik ve alegorik bilgiler ışığında figürlerin temsil ettiği karakterler ve aktarılan kavramlar ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Üçüncü aşamada ise yapıtın, dönemin koşulları içerisinde sahip olduğu anlamlar irdelenirken; yakın döneminde üretilen, benzer temaya sahip eserlerle de karşılaştırılmıştır. Son olarak yapının mimari ve ikonografik programları arasındaki etkileşim ele alınmıştır.Kariye Manastırı, mimari programla ikonografinin iç içe geçtiği, hatta ikonografiyle anlatılan hikaye dizisinin mimari elemanları belirlediği bir düzene sahiptir. Bu nedenle Rönesans’a öncülük yapan Bizans Sanatı ikonografisinin incelenebileceği özgün örnekler arasında sayılabilir. Kariye güney şapeli apsis yarım kubbesi üzerinde yer alan Anastasis freski, Hristiyan literatüründe önemli bir yeri olan diriliş temasını işlemektedir. Şapeldeki ikonografik programın bütünü düşüldüğünde diriliş sahnesi ana temayı oluşturmaktadır. Anastasis freskinin parekklesionda yer alması, mezarı burada bulunan Kariye Kilisesi’nin hamisi Metokhites’in ölümsüzlük / diriliş beklentisini de simgelemektedir.

Signed by Valerius: an Early Imperial wall painting from the fort of Deir el-Atrash in the Egyptian Eastern Desert

AbstractDuring the 2020 excavation campaign of the French Archaeological Mission to the Egyptian Eastern Desert (MAFDO), the team in charge of the excavation of the Roman fort of Deir el-Atrash uncovered a polychrome painting on one of the original entrance tower gates from the late 1st–early 2nd c. CE. The iconographic program includes, in the top register, a horseman genius and a caravan of dromedaries with its driver. In the lower register, a pattern of vine stalks and leaves occupies the space. This discovery is exceptional, as very few Roman paintings have been preserved in a military context. In addition to depicting a scene of everyday desert life, the supply of the fort, the scene also illustrates the power of the Empire and its presence at its borders.

Подносная икона с видом Лихвинского Доброго монастыря: датировка, типология, иконография, стиль

The article is devoted to the “podnosnoy” with the view of the Likhvin Dobryi Monastery of Intercession of Theotokos near Kaluga from the collection of the Andrey Rublev Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art (CMAR): the dating of the monument is specified, its typology is determined, the iconography and style are characterized. Due to the information about chronology of construction transformations carried out in the monastery it is possible to date the icon with the time range of 1818-1832. The lower dating limit is based on the stylistic features of this icon are formed by influence of architectural drawing from 1818. The upper limit determined due to the typological characteristics of the icon as a gift (testimonial icon) for a special important person in memory of the solemn consecration of the renovated monastery ensemble in 1832. The typological characteristic of the monument as a special gift is supported by a number of iconographic and typological analogies. The iconographic program of the icon shows the principles of compositional constructing of "podnosnoy" (tray) and "razdatochnyy"(handout) icons: the pictorial surface is divided into two parts; at the bottom a panoramic view of the city or monastery placed, and at the top of it there are celestial patrons. Taking into account the administrative dependence of the Likhvin Dobryi Monastery from the Kaluga diocese and comparing the icon with a number of dated works close to it in style, it was possible to place them in the circle of works of the Kaluga icons and artistic context of Empire era. A number of these analogies constitutes a separate stylistic line of this regional artistic tradition: it is distinguished by delicate coloring, sentimentality and classical restraint.

Should the sculpture of Synagoga at Bamberg Cathedral be removed? Considerations and approaches to the problem of anti-Jewish images in a Christian church

Since the early thirteenth century the outstanding Gothic sculptures of Synagoga and Ecclesia at Bamberg Cathedral - personifications of Judaism and the Church - have been part of an iconographic programme of the history of salvation. After the original statues at the Princes’ portal were relocated to the interior for conservation reasons, copies now fill the gaps in the portal’s pictorial programme. This ‘doubling’ of the motif and of its message recently led to demands for the removal of Synagoga. The archbishop, cathedral chapter and monument conservators are striving to retain both groups of figures in situ in order to preserve their history and context at the cathedral while confronting their controversial message. The aim of this article is to situate the sculptures of Ecclesia and Synagoga in the context of the many, often conflicting positions that have arisen during the current debate and to discuss these points of view in the context of present-day tendencies towards iconoclasm. Thus it considers the applicability of the term antisemitic to medieval sculptures and examines the iconographic development of the Ecclesia-Synagoga group for its anti-Jewish or antisemitic content. It also considers the partial or complete loss of the medieval horizon of meaning in today’s secular society, which leads to a loss of acceptance of the monument. The article concludes with a ten-point plan which aims to reconstruct the legibility of the figures and to raise awareness of the meaning and value of the sculptures without perpetuating outdated patterns of thinking.

The Deesis on Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece: Its Potential for a Liturgical Theology Today

The core argument in this article is that it is meaningful and revealing to look at a world-famous medieval piece of art, in this case, the Ghent Altarpiece, to raise questions relevant for contemporary liturgical theology. The article starts with an evocation of where and how the Altarpiece is today exhibited for the public, and continues by elucidating the historical context for which it was created. This is followed by a brief interpretation of the Altarpiece's complex iconographic program showing how a focus on the Eucharist sheds light on the whole. The assertion is then made to argue that the central figure on the upper level of the opened polyptych is not God the Father, as is often held, but the Son of God. The major argument for this relies on the fact that the three central figures on the upper level together constitute a deesis, as often found in the Byzantine tradition of icons. Mary, the Mother of God, and Saint John the Baptist pray for humankind to Jesus Christ in his eschatological capacity of king, ruler, and judge. If and inasmuch as this is the case, this observation gives rise to intriguing questions for liturgical theologians, in particular questions related to the ways in which the connections between the earthly and the heavenly liturgy are to be understood.

The Tsar and the “Angel of the Tzar”: the problem of image-related interpretation of historiosophical conceptions of the 16th century in the miniatures of the convolute from Chudov monastery of the 1560s

The article is devoted to the analysis of the iconographic program of the miniature "Word for the Conception of St. John the Baptist" in the manuscript from the Chudov Monastery dated 1560s (Russian State Library. F. 98, Collection of E.E. Egorov. No 1844, fol. 132 v. – 186). Its elaborate composition combines the image of the tsar sitting on the throne surrounded by His entourage, God the Father and Christ, sending the young John the Baptist into the world, and the image of paradise with the Old Testament saints (f.151v – 155). The miniature program visualizes the ideas of the publicists of the 16th century about the role and purpose of the Moscow Kingdom and the Russian tsar in world history. It reflects the historiosophical ideas popular in this era of the translation of the Roman Empire into Russia, the concept of "royal sacrifice", as well as topical issues of the correlation of personal freedom of a citizen and the boundaries of autocratic power over him. It also clearly indicates the place of the cult of the "angel of the sovereign" in the formulated system of the ideology of the kingdom, its inspiring and teaching role in the process of his moral education.