All the main types and directions of Byzantine painting are considered (more precisely, those that were of interest to me personally, and, I hope, to you too). There is little left to sum up. From my point of view, the results, in such a case, are a brief formulation of the main provisions and features that may be needed in practice. No, I do not mean painting or, even more so, icon painting, but visiting art exhibitions and museums is one of my favorite activities. It is there that these notes of mine may be needed, by myself (something may be forgotten), and perhaps you, friends.
So let's start.
Byzantine painting is canonical and has a pronounced religious-ecclesiastical (Orthodox) character, therefore its main type is icon painting (in its Byzantine understanding of the term - the image of saints).
We are not apostles and not saints, but, perhaps, with God's help, we can at least simply learn to "read" icons. Let's try...
The church icon-painting canon includes several provisions/components:
A. General composition Icons are usually triangular in shape. Moreover, it is not the figures themselves that line up in a triangle, and not even their heads, but halos above their heads. It should be remembered that there are many types and shapes of triangles (rectangular, acute-angled, equilateral, isosceles, etc.)
The main characters of the icon, filled with greater grace, as a rule, are enlarged in size and located in the center. Their figures are located frontally (full face). This is a very favorable angle for the icon painter. For example, when an actor on the proscenium, at the very ramp, addresses the viewer directly, the information “without translation” (additional knowledge and effort) is read by the viewer from the figure, facial expression, from the eyes and hands of the character. Knowing well this feature of the frontal image, icon painters even emphasize/enhance the necessary facial expression and enlarge the eyes of the main image - it has something to say to people.
On the contrary, in profile depict negative characters: betraying and repenting Judas, trampled upon by Satan, etc. Their faces become flat, existing in one dimension inherent in them. So from them to the viewer comes a minimum of information.
The rest of the figures are depicted half-turned.
B. Since the icon painter / painter / mosaicist depicts on the icon / fresco / mosaic the image of the spiritual, ideal, and not real world; not holy people, but their perfect images; not real events, but their reflection, then the space of the icon / fresco / mosaic is special, spiritual, and it has special properties.
Secular painting, after quite a long search, has chosen and uses mainly direct perspective as the best way Images real picture peace. In direct perspective, the image of the picture is built so that the lines along which the viewer's eye slides converge at one point (within or outside the picture). The field of view constantly narrows and ends. A person, as it were, looks out the window and sees a rather large piece of the world, but he himself mentally and sensually remains in the room.
In the reverse perspective, which was chosen and used by religious-church, Orthodox painting, the rays of vision constantly diverge, the field of vision expands, and the perceived world gradually unfolds, drawing the viewer into its orbit. Mentally and sensually, a person is immersed, drawn into this new ideal world. No wonder it is impossible to "leave" the eyes of the image depicted on the icon.
C. Time - an icon/fresco/mosaic does not convey real time. The time of the spiritual world is eternity. Here, the past, present and future are always present - they coexist. Everything is already there, nothing becomes. This allows icon painters/painters/mosaicists to depict events at different times in one space. In addition, the background for the figures is most often a very conditional image of architecture or landscape. The interior, its details are almost never depicted, which allows you to get away from being tied to a specific time.
The ratio of figures, bodies to the ground is also very conditional. These are not real bodies, but their intangible images hover above the ground. This also serves the ultimate static nature of objects and figures.
D. The system of light.
On the works of secular artists, volumes and space are created by chiaroscuro, changing the illumination of different spatial plans.
When displaying the spiritual space, a different system of light is used.
Byzantine church artists developed three sources of special illumination of the space of the ideal world.
Firstly, it is a golden background, often covering all free space. These are the mosaic icons Orthodox churches that literally glow with this "inner" golden light. Gold, gold background is not an indicator here material wealth, but a symbol of pure light in the ideal, spiritual world. Not the disk of the sun, not the visible rays of light, but the light itself poured into space, the luminous space itself. Gold as a background has become a symbol of such a space, which, being present in our world, conveys images, information of another, spiritual world.
The second source of light is halos above the heads of the depicted figures. They shine especially brightly, expressing the spiritual essence of a person.
The third source of light is the faces, especially the eyes. They are distinguished by size and endowed with a special inner glow.
D. The color system used in Roman-Byzantine painting is also conditional and canonical.
Purple is the most important color. It is the color of divine and imperial dignity. In addition to Christ, only the Mother of God was depicted in purple clothes as a sign of special reverence. Only the altar gospel was in purple binding. Of the people, only the emperor (basileus) could sign with purple ink, sit on a purple throne, wear purple clothes and boots.
Red is the color of fiery, martyrdom, fire, both punishing and purifying, a symbol of the fire of the Holy Spirit, with which the Lord baptizes his chosen ones. On earth - a symbol of life, energy, wealth, high social status and beauty (beautiful, red square, red maiden). But he is the color of the blood of Christ, and hence the coming salvation of mankind. Red is credited with healing properties, protection from evil influences: red threads, red Easter eggs, red fabrics, red corals, red flowers - charms of people since ancient times. Especially strong amulet- red rooster.
White color- purity and virtue, holiness, detachment from the worldly, striving for spiritual world. White is daylight, the color of the earth, but it is pure, cold light, the color of snow and ice, clouds, fog, and ghosts. Therefore, in a number of cultures, it is associated with death. The Slavs dressed the dead in white clothes, the “white man” is still called brownie in a number of regions of Russia. The Poles call death "White" and the expression "to marry White" means to die.
The bride is dressed in a white dress because it is both a symbol of purity, innocence and the end. girl life, transition to new life, married woman. According to custom, after the first wedding night, the white dress was no longer worn.
Black color is a symbol of night, grief, darkness, a sign of the end, death. What lurks in the darkness is unknown, therefore black is secret, hidden, witchcraft. In the dark, all people are the same, so black is still the color of the official suit generally accepted throughout the world.
But black is earth and therefore it is the color of love and fertility.
Iconography often uses the opposition of white and black colors: one of the canons of the Assumption of the Mother of God depicts her in white shrouds against the background of the black abyss of the grave.
Brown is also the color of the earth, but barren, dead, a symbol of dust (man was created from dust, he turns to dust after death). Also brown and gray colors were in the Middle Ages the colors of commoners, the attitude towards them was negative - they meant poverty, hopelessness, wretchedness. Therefore, it is no coincidence that after death and ablution dead body Jesus (a form of punishment for a criminal who imagines himself a king, the son of God) was dressed in a tunic Brown(icon "The Entombment").
Yellow color - the sun, gold and the Word, the color of a stable connection with the other world, mourning and sadness.
Green is the color of youth, flowering, development and growth, hope, immaturity, imperfection, but also balance and tranquility. This is a typically earthy color, so it calms without plunging into the mystical.
Blue, blue and purple are symbols of the transcendent world, spiritual purity, sublime feelings and thoughts, as well as cold, mystery, eternity. Moreover, the darker and richer the shade, the deeper the immersion into the otherworldly space it depicts. The weakest is blue, the strongest is purple.
This system of colors or symbolism of color, which developed in the Roman Empire in the VIII-IX centuries, then, by about the XI century, became widespread throughout all countries. Medieval Europe, i.e. became a common Christian symbolism. Therefore, it can be difficult to take seriously and share the words of sincere admiration for color symbols theatrical costume of medieval Japan or China, that's what they were able to do. They could - honor and praise them, but there this symbolism concerned only one country, and the Byzantine genius managed to create such a symbolic color system that all of Europe accepted and still considers its own.
Let's move on to the last part of the story, but first a little clarification: I already wrote about the cosmic symbolism of the Byzantine temple, I won't repeat it; a long, thorough examination of Byzantine architecture is ahead (we will start around the fall), at the same time there will be a story about the patterns of the topographic and temporal symbolism of the temple and the specifics of the Byzantine iconostasis (they, the Byzantines, also came up with this).
Now only and briefly about the canonical requirements for the depiction of the plots of the icons of the festive cycle and some other obligatory images of the Byzantine temple. I will not retell the plots themselves - sorry, but it is easy to find their description on the Internet.
The festive cycle is a set of scenes depicting the main events described in the Gospel and which have become holidays: the Annunciation, Christmas, Candlemas, Epiphany, etc.
Picturesque plots on the walls of the temple were arranged in the order corresponding to the church calendar, they were associated with various times years in which the celebration of a particular event occurred. Every such holiday church calendar not just a memory of a long-gone event Christian history but like committing it again.
The icons of the festive cycle depict the history of the incarnations of the Son of God, and the topics for which there were provisions of the canon corresponding to the records were obligatory. Holy Scripture Church Fathers/Apostles in the Gospel/Bible (no records - no canon provisions).
The festive row often included events from the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, but they were not holidays.
Annunciation: because Christian doctrine did not know a closed space (everything is available to God), then the Virgin Mary was depicted against the background of buildings. The Mother of God is the personification of the door through which the Savior entered the world, the purple yarn in her hands is the forthcoming “spinning” of the body of Jesus from the “purple” of maternal blood. The messenger with wings, the archangel Gabriel in white robes is a symbol of spiritual purity, which is depicted with a hand extended towards the Mother of God with fingers folded in a certain way. This is an ancient oratorical gesture, meaning direct speech. In the same way, the reciprocal gesture of the Virgin means her acceptance of the gospel.
Annunciation
on the left - a mosaic of the cathedral of the Vatopedi monastery on Athos. XIV century., Greece
on the right - a fresco of the Church of Panagia. 12th century, Cyprus
Annunciation
on the left is an icon. Byzantium. XIV century.
on the right is a miniature from the manuscript. Byzantium XIII century.
Nativity: in the center of the composition there is a black opening of the cave, a manger with a swaddled baby and an ox and a donkey looking into them - symbols of two peoples (Jewish and pagan). Next to the manger is the Mother of God. At the feet of the Mother of God, Joseph is immersed in deep thought. At some distance Satan, under the guise of a traveler with a flowering staff in his hand. On the other side of the Mother of God are midwives who bathe the newborn, introducing him into the circle of earthly life. Shines above the cave star of bethlehem, a sheaf of light which falls directly on the born baby. On the ledges and hills framing the cave, there are figures of all the other participants in the event: singing and jubilant angels, shepherds who came to bow, wise men on horseback with precious gifts.
Nativity
on the left - a fresco of the Karanlik cave church. XI-XIII centuries Cappadocia, Türkiye
on the right - an icon of the 8th - 9th centuries. Byzantium
Nativity. Mosaic of the Church of Chora. Istanbul, Türkiye
Meeting: against the background of the Jerusalem temple (i.e. inside the temple) Joseph with two sacrificial turtledoves, Mary holding the baby Jesus on her hands covered with clothes, on the right is the elder Simeon, who stretched out his “protective” hands to the child as a sign of respect and the prophetess Anna.
Meeting of the Lord
left - Byzantine icon, XV century
on the right - a miniature of the Menology of Basil II, XI century, Vatican Library
Candlemas. triumphal arch mosaic
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 432-440s, Italy
Baptism or Epiphany: Christ in a cross halo against the background of the Jordan River, next to John the Baptist / Baptist, sprinkling the head of Christ and angels, constant companions of God. Above Christ, a semicircle of a mandorla is a symbol of the Light of God the Father, from which the Holy Spirit “in the form of a dove” is in a ray of light. The symbol of the voice of God the Father is a hand / hand with a blessing gesture. But all three elements of baptism are not displayed on every icon-painting plot.
Baptism or Epiphany
on the left is a mosaic. XI century. Osios Loukas, Greece (have all the elements)
on the right is the mosaic of the Church of the Assumption in Daphne. OK. 1100 Greece (has all the elements)
Epiphany
on the left - a fresco, Athos, XIII century; Greece. (no mandorla)
on the right - a mosaic of the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice, Italy (only a dove is depicted - the Holy Spirit).
Transformation: symmetrical composition, most of which is occupied by Mount Tabor. Above, in the center - the transfigured Christ with two prophets - the gray-bearded elder Elijah and the dark-haired Moses with the tablet of the covenant. Below are the shocked apostles, "fallen on their faces."
Transfiguration
on the left is a mosaic icon. Constantinople. 12th century
on the right is a mosaic. Monastery of Daphni, 11th century, Greece
Transfiguration. Fresco. Dark Church, Cappadocia. 12th century, Türkiye
The Resurrection of Lazarus: on the left side of the icon is the figure of Jesus Christ with a raised blessing right hand, directed towards Lazarus, wrapped in funeral sheets, standing at the exit from the cave. Christ, surrounded by the apostles and other witnesses of the miracle, Martha and Mary fell at the feet of the Savior. Next to Lazarus, a young man unwinds the linen so that the resurrected one "can walk."
Resurrection of Lazarus
on the left is a fresco of the catacombs of Peter and Marcellinus. 4th century Rome, Italy
on the right is a miniature of the Trebizond Gospel. Byzantium, 12th century, Walters Museum, USA
Resurrection of Lazarus. Mosaic of the Basilica of San Apollinare Nuovo. Ravenna, 6th century; Italy
Entrance to Jerusalem: in the center, riding on a donkey, Jesus Christ surrounded by disciples. The donkey is a symbol of meekness and peacefulness. A mountain rises behind them - a hint of the coming Resurrection. Jerusalem is on the right side and in front of it is a jubilant crowd of people who meet and greet Jesus. The palm tree is a mandatory attribute of the icon, since the palm branch is a symbol of martyrdom and eternity. afterlife. The colors of the images may vary.
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
left - fresco, 13th century. Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai, Egypt
on the right - the mosaic of the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice, Italy
The Last Supper. The Byzantine canon provides for three different images of the table and the Teacher and disciples reclining near the table: the first - with a full bowl, and bread, the second - with an empty bowl, a sign of a completed meal, the third - the distribution of bread and wine by Jesus, that is, communion with their body and blood . But the Last Supper begins with the fact that Jesus Christ washes the feet of each of his disciples. However, the foot washing plot itself is not canonical.
The Last Supper. Foot washing. Fresco. 14th century, Church of Nicholas Orphanos, Thessaloniki, Greece
The Last Supper. Athos icon of the 12th century, Greece (1 version)
The Last Supper. Miniature from a Syriac manuscript, 12th century. (Option 2)
The Last Supper. Mosaic. Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Italy (Option 3)
The Judgment of the Messiah (there are images, but the provisions of the canon are missing)
Jesus before Pilate. Mosaic of the Basilica of San Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
Carrying the Cross (there are images, but there are no provisions of the canon)
Carrying the cross. Mosaic of the Basilica of San Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
Climbing the Cross (depicted, but canon provisions missing)
Good Friday. Climbing the Cross. XIV century, fresco of Vatoped monastery, Athos, Greece
Crucifixion: there are several canonical versions of the Crucifixion, but over time, the image of the obvious death of Christ on the cross became dominant, i.e. Jesus was depicted with eyes closed, bowed to the right shoulder with his head and heavily sagging dead body. On both sides of the cross in poses of sorrow and sorrow are the Mother of God and John. The mound at the base of the cross points to the place of the Crucifixion - Golgotha.
crucifixion. painting, cave church, Cappadocia. 11th century, Türkiye
Crucifixion of Christ. Mosaic of San Marco Cathedral, Venice, Italy
crucifixion. icon, monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai. XII century, Egypt
Plots: Descent from the Cross, Lamentation and Entombment (there are images, but there are no provisions of the canon).
Descent from the Cross, painting, XIV century. from the church of St. Marina in Kalopanagiotis, Cyprus
In 330, long before the collapse of the Roman Empire into the western and eastern parts, Emperor Constantine built the city of his name, Constantinople, on the territory of Asia Minor. This city was built on the site ancient city- Byzantium. Later, when the Roman Empire was divided, the eastern part was named Byzantium, and Constantinople became its capital.
Byzantine art developed on the basis of the Hellenistic culture of Greece, Palestine, Ptolemaic Egypt, and Iran. Byzantium marked the beginning of the formation of the Greco-Eastern type of culture. Byzantine art is permeated with ideas Orthodox Christianity. The cult united all kinds of art: architecture, painting, literature, sculpture, applied art. Since Byzantine art is cult, it is strictly canonized.
In the Byzantine artistic culture, two principles are merged: an emotional and spiritual essence and a decorative principle, magnificent spectacle and refined spiritualism (spirito - spirit). originality Byzantine art in that it combines both into one art system, strictly normative, canonical, imbued with the spirit of solemn and mysterious ceremonial. Glitter, splendor, gold and marble, colorfulness and radiance - everything turned out to be appropriate, as a symbol of spiritual bliss, and at the same time this luxury corresponded well to the style of the Eastern Roman Empire, the tastes of the rich Constantinople court. Periods of development of Byzantine art. Early period - "Golden Age of Emperor Justinian 527-565" - 4-7 centuries. AD The period of iconoclasm - 8th century - 1st half of the 9th century. AD Macedonian revival, 2nd half of 9th century - 10th century. AD Komninsky period (Komnen dynasty) - 11-12 centuries. AD Paleologian period (dynasty of Palaiologos) - 1261-1453. AD The main forms of Byzantine painting were: monumental-temple painting (mosaic, fresco), icons, book miniature. Mosaic is the most characteristic creation of the Byzantine Genius. Small multi-colored cubes of smalt (an alloy of glass with mineral paints) flicker, flash, shimmer, reflecting light. Accurately calculating the angle of incidence of light, making the surface of the mosaic somewhat rough, the masters extracted magnificent picturesque effects. They took into account the optical fusion of colors in the eye of a praying person looking at her from a great distance. The most ancient mosaics are in the tombs and temples of Ravenna (Italy). Justinian period. 1. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia: “Christ is the good shepherd”, ser 5th century. On a blue background, the image of the young Christ. Christ is given in the iconography of Immanuel ("God with us"). Christ as the good shepherd, the idea of the gardens of Eden2. Church of St. Vitalius, Ravenna, 6th century AD : Two paired mosaics: Emperor Justinian with retinue and Empress Theodora with retinue.3. Paired mosaic "Martyrs and Martyrs", the church of San Apollinare in Nuovo (middle of the 6th century). The mosaic is made on a gold background, in white and green tones. The presence of lush decorativeness and spirituality. The martyrs are in a state of anticipation, in their hands are crowns of glory. The figures are presented frontally, static. Their names are laid out above the heads of the martyrs, but there is no individual description. The state of being in spiritual unity with God, which makes it related to the mosaic of Justinian. If the martyrs slightly differ in age characteristics, then the martyrs do not have this either. similarity appearance conveys the similarity of their fate. It was important for the artist to emphasize that they are all “Brothers and Sisters in Christ” Komnin period. Mosaic of the Komnenian period is distinguished by its stylistic diversity. 1. Emperor John II and Empress Irina in front of the Virgin and Child. Tsarevich Alexei Both of these mosaics belong to the 12th century. and they are in Sophia of Constantinople. The figures are frozen in tense poses. They have completely turned into flat, covered geometric ornament silhouettes, as if pasted on a golden background. Human flesh disappears behind the play of ornamental forms. The faces are made of small, well-fitting smalt cubes, which also form geometric patterns. In this performance, the blush on the Empress's cheeks is more like a tattoo, and the flare-ups on Alexei's face are scars. 2. Christ, 12v.3. Virgin and Child, 9th century Located in the central apse of St. Sophia of Constantinople. According to legend, the mosaic was made by the famous Greek artist Lazarus. He died in 854, having suffered greatly from the iconoclasts. The artist emphasized the cosmic role of the virgin in the salvation of the world, in addition, he emphasized the motif of the Mother of God, as the throne of divine wisdom. A living and full-blooded experience of antiquity, indicating that for Byzantine art the classical, being the image of an ideal human beauty, was also a way to search for the highest spiritualization. The images are endowed with genuine monumentality, statuary, solemnity and regality of the Mother of God are created here not only by unattainable grandeur, but also by an ideal abstraction from the world of earthly dimensions. The Virgin Mary is the queen of heaven here, but maybe in last time and Goddess. Iconography "Panachrantos" - "Pure". The interpretation of the image of a baby is a small adult.
The mosaics of the churches in Daphni and Cefalu have a different style. Instead of the picturesque solution of the mosaics of the Comnin period, a closed contour line is cultivated. These mosaics are characterized by great graphics. 1. Christ Pantokrator (Almighty), the apse of the cathedral in Cefalu 2. The Baptism of Christ, the monastery in Daphne 3. Pantokrator, in the dome of the church of the monastery in Daphne The images are more strict, ascetic, severe. Palaiologan period. In the mosaics of the Paleologian period, there is great expression and freedom of movement. In these mosaics, everything moved. The figures are not static and not frontal. They do not face the worshiper, but turn to each other. There is a common compositional solution. In these mosaics, images of fantastic architectural structures appear, already protruding in a slightly recessed space. Mosaics of the Kahriye-Jami Church. Birth of the Virgin Mary. Flight into Egypt. Saints Joseph and Mary before the scribes of King Herod. Byzantine fresco the church was very small or poor. Annunciation, Church of St. Mary, 7th century Maccabee brothers and their mother Samona, Church of St. Mary, 7th century. The fresco is distinguished by looseness, naturalness in the staging of figures, the absence of stiffness in poses. Forms are molded with a wide, freely thrown brushstroke. Annunciation, Church of St. Mary, 8th century Interpretation of the face - "inspired ugliness." Feeling of inner burning.« Beautiful Angel, St. Mary's Church, 8th century. Colder coloring, powerful rounding, powerful, wide line. Flight into Egypt, Church of St. Mary, 8th century. The forms are more massive and plastically marked. Holy Fathers, Sophia of Ohrid, 12th century
Mosaic peristyle of the Bolshoi imperial palace(Museum of Mosaics), VI century.
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
Reminds me of the old joke "What is there to think - you need to shake!"
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
Very brutal too. And the blood is completely natural.
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
A boy and a rabbit (although I imagine a lamb there). Judging by the expression on the boy's face, the rabbit (aka lamb) won't be long...
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
If a whale, a lion and an elephant fight, then who will win?
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
Very naturalistic, by the way. Even the wings of a lion.
Mosaic peristyle of the Grand Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century BC
Emperor John II Komnenos (1118-1143) and Empress Irene. In the hands of the emperor is a bag of money. This is no accident. It was in this part of the church of St. Sophia that the cash desk was located. The clergy of St. Sophia received a salary.
Mosaics of St. Sophia Wisdom.
Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (June 11, 1042 - January 11, 1055) with Empress Zoya - also with a bag of money.
Mosaics of St. Sophia Wisdom.
Mosaics of St. Sophia Wisdom.
Emperor Leo VI the Wise (Philosopher) (September 19, 866 - May 11, 912) at the feet of the Savior begs forgiveness for the fourth marriage.
Mosaics of St. Sophia Wisdom.
Deesis.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Monogram of Emperor Justinian I (527-565) and Theodora in the capital of a column.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Column capital.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Column capital.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Graffiti - Scandinavian runes of the 9th century, Viking Halvdan.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Graffiti: "Matthew Pop Galician".
People don't change... Graffiti "Kolya, 30.03.2011" - is also present...
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
The frescoes are interesting because this part (lower church) is not accessible to tourists. It is shown only to the most advanced local historians. There is no lighting in it, until recently it was flooded.
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
Mosaic on the floor.
Church of Christ Pantokrator of the monastery in Chora (527, with alterations of the 7th, 9th centuries (?) (no archaeological evidence), 1st phase of construction - the main space - 1077-1081; 2nd phase of construction - narthex and exonarthex, parekklesion on the south side - between 1315 and 1321.
In the dome and on the walls are mosaics with the life of the Virgin according to the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James.
Church of Christ Pantocrator in Chora Monastery.
Mosaics from 1315
Church of Christ Pantocrator in Chora Monastery.
Mosaics from 1315
Orthodoxy is literally "correct judgment", " right teaching” or “correct glorification”.
Orthodoxy took shape in the first millennium after the birth of Christ in the territory Byzantine Empire and subsequently spread to the Balkan Peninsula, Eastern Europe and in the Middle East.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western parts, Cyprus in 395 came under the rule of Byzantium, becoming part of it. This period lasted almost 800 years, interrupted by the period of Arab domination 648-965.
The Byzantine period ended in 1191, during the reign of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, when English king Richard I the Lionheart occupied the island during the Third Crusade.
During the period of Byzantine domination in Cyprus there was Orthodoxy. And, it is clear that many Orthodox churches were built.
What is a fresco? The Italian word fresco (fresco) means fresh, raw. This is painting on wet plaster. The wall is covered with lime mortar and, while it is fresh, they write with a pigment diluted clean water. When the plaster dries, the paints seem to be soldered into the wall. The artist must paint the fresco very quickly, since the solution dries completely in 10-15 minutes, and then the paints are not fixed on it.
Therefore, this technique requires great skill and precision. As soon as the artist makes a little mistake, draws the wrong line, and he has to completely clean off the already finished fragment, once again cover the wall with plaster and start all over again.
The exact date of the appearance of frescoes is unknown, but already during the period of the Aegean culture (2nd millennium BC), fresco painting became widespread. In Christian art, however, fresco has become a favorite way of decorating the inner and less often the outer walls of stone churches.
Byzantine artists created their own ideal of beauty. Ancient masters admired the beauty human body. The Byzantines, on the other hand, hid it under their clothes: the artist did not paint the body of a person, but “the image of his soul”!
Hidden by luxurious mantles, the figures look like appliqués; small symbolic legs are set as if the bodies are hovering in the air, and the faces (already faces, not faces) are stern, motionless and numbly looking forward: which for the life-loving Antiquity is sheer boredom, but for Byzantium it is a spiritual ideal based on self-renunciation.
Each image had a strictly defined place inside the temple: in the dome was placed the image of Christ in the form of a formidable judge, below - the disciples of Christ (apostles), on the walls and pillars - saints and prophets, on the western wall of the temple - the scene of the Last Judgment.
In Byzantium, ancient traditions were preserved in wall painting until the 12th century - the top layer of the soil was made of lime-marble, smoothed to a faint sheen. They wrote on it with the expectation of its clearance through the paint layer.
But in the 12th century, Byzantine mural masters were already writing on matte grounds - gesso made from heavily "lean" lime, but with the introduction of traditional Roman fillers (crushed limestone, marble, tiles, and others).
However, the scale of the wall paintings performed in Byzantium required an increase in the time of work on fresh mortar. Therefore, from the XII century, the number of layers of plaster decreased to two, instead of crushed marble, straw was introduced into the solution for the lower layers, for the upper layers - flax or tow, which retained moisture well. These additives were minimal, but had a significant impact on the quality of the soil. Such tubular soils are the most durable, and this is confirmed by the good preservation of the wall paintings made on them.
The highest flowering of Byzantine frescoes was the period from the middle of the 9th to the 14th century.The rules of ancient Byzantine fresco painting are described in the icon painter Dionisy's "Erminius of Dionysius Furnoagrafiot" (XVII century)
2 - Murals
A series of misfortunes that befell European culture, in some kind of methodical sequence, destroyed these monuments. But most of all they suffered from negligence and lack of funds. In particular, the history of the empire is henceforth (with some respite) a history of gradual demoralization and bankruptcy. This was joined by indefiniteness to classical art decadent pagans and the hatred of triumphant Christian fanatics. Temples were locked up and destroyed due to the lack of worshipers, idols were destroyed like devilish masks, and thus the sources of artistic knowledge and inspiration perished, because not only the art of the catacombs was an offspring ancient art, but all the art of Byzantium until the 10th century (and partly further) was the same. To this slow organic decay must be added still terrifying, sometimes even deadly, crises, such as the influx of barbarians. Italy, except for the papal region, was already a "cultural desert" in the 7th century, and due to the pressure of the elements who came from Asia, all the main strongholds of ancient education: Egypt, Antioch, the whole north of Africa, became wild and empty. The revival of some of these areas is already taking place under the new sign of Islam.
In the real "capital" of the decaying kingdom, in the "new Rome" - in Constantinople, these crises correspond to dynastic and other revolts, invasions and sieges, as well as the devastation of the long-term iconoclastic movement. What was spared by some, was destroyed by others. In particular, the iconoclasts destroy everything that their predecessors created, all Christian-ecclesiastical creativity, and instead they mark a certain turn towards the ancient "secular" understanding of art, the reactionary churchmen overcome the iconoclasts, with all the more fury they should have continued the work of ruining pagan antiquity. The miserable remnants of Hellenism then perished under layers of Arab, and later Turkish culture.
Of what remains of the last (already Christian) period of ancient painting, everything comes down to wall mosaics and frescoes in Ravenna, Rome, Naples, Sinai, Thessalonica, Cyprus, in small Egyptian churches, to several dozen manuscripts with illustrations (none of which are original), textiles, mostly Egyptian, and several mosaic floors. An indirect idea of painting is given, further, by ivory items, relief decorations of Palestinian oil vessels and marble sarcophagi. All these monuments confirm the power of Hellenistic art, which we have already encountered in the analysis of Campanian and Roman frescoes, all bear the features of late Alexandrian (or East Asian) art and at the same time already strongly express some kind of "exotic", alien to classicism character. . One must think that the national elements temporarily suppressed by the Greeks and Romans in the Asian and African provinces, the kingdoms of Alexander and the empire of the Caesars, from the moment of the weakening of the alluvial culture of the conquerors, gradually began to gain the upper hand over it again, and to this was added the role of the East as the cradle of the official religion accepted by all, and and, finally, the influence of the civilization of the Persians, which pressed on from the east to the empire.
Young man David the psalmist among the flock. Miniature of the "Paris Psalter" of the 10th century
This "oriental tinge" of Christian antique art contributed, on the one hand, to ignoring the entire purely plastic element: painting becomes more and more "flat" 1 ; on the other hand, this same "oriental tinge" imparted to the art of the entire empire that majestic sketchiness that was alien to classical culture. yard Byzantine emperors borrowed many features of etiquette from Eastern court rituals, reporting these same features and church art, which became in direct connection with the imperial power.
Simultaneously with severe solemnity and schematic protocolism, a thirst for amazing luxury and brilliance came from the East, expressed both in the immense use of gold and silver, and in thick, bright colors.
Transfer of the relics of St. Mark to Venice. In the background of the composition, the Cathedral of St. Brand in its original form. A rare example of "veduta" in Byzantine painting. Mosaic of the 13th century on the facade of the cathedral.
It can be argued that everything that is gentle, elegant, harmonious, witty, more or less vital in the Christian antique art is all the last traces of fading Hellenism. On the contrary, everything in it that is callous and "proud" in forms, colorful and luxurious in colors, all this came from the East, and not last role the dead cultures of Assyria and Babylon could play, which around the same time gave the last reflection in the art of the Sassanids.
The main changes in Christian art, as one would expect, took place in the field religious painting of a historical and symbolic character, to which we will turn later, on the contrary, in the area that is subject to our study in this part, i.e. in the landscape, as well as in the painting of animals and dead nature, we see for a long time, until the 10th century (and in miniature even longer) persistent experience of ancient forms and, as it were, even the very spirit of Hellenistic art.
