Zograf : časopis za srednjovekovnu umetnost
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Publisher: Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade
Country of publisher: Serbia
ISSN 0350-1361
eISSN 2406-0755
Pages
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- The church of the virgin in the village of Modrište
- The Church of the Virgin in the village of Modrište in the Poreče district with its original architecture, conception of the internal space, painted programme and unusual iconographic solutions, ranks among the more interesting churches erected by the nobility in the third quarter of the fourteenth century. The features of its programme and artistic style suggest that its frescoes date from between 1360 and 1380. According to the results of his analysis, the author considers that one should rule out the possibility of identifying this church with the Monastery of Modrič, which is mentioned in sources at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
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- The depiction of the Vision of Saint Peter of Alexandria in the sanctuary of Byzantine churches
- The article deals with the factors that have influenced the frequent depicting of the ‘Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria’ in the sanctuaries of Byzantine churches from the beginning of the thirteenth century. It also discusses the theological messages of this scene. The preserved examples of the ‘Vision’ from the thirteenth century have been inventoried and described, after which the iconographic characteristics of depictions from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have been given. The examples from the sanctuaries of post-Byzantine churches have also been added to the catalogue of scenes.
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- The founder of the church of Saint George at Pološko
- The paper seeks to establish who was the founder of the church of Saint George at Pološko and revise the conclusions of previous researchers regarding this issue. According to the opinion commonly adopted in the scholarly literature, Jovan Dragušin, a cousin of King Dušan, had merely undertaken the construction of church at Pološko, whereas his mother was responsible for the completion of construction and painting of frescoes in the church. Through an analysis of written and visual sources the conclusion is reached that the sole person responsible for the construction and painting of the church at Pološko was the nun Maria, the mother of Jovan Dragušin. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]
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- The fresco painting of the narthex of Zrze and the liturgy of Holy Week
- The frescoes in the narthex of the Church of the Transfiguration at the Zrze Monastery near Prilep (1368/1369) depict several unusual themes, as well as a very rare iconography. The holy monks painted in the lower zone of frescoes can be interpreted as the three categories of monasticism: anchorites, representatives of coenobitic monasticism and monks who became the bishops and teachers of the Church. The remaining frescoes - an abbreviated cycle of Christ’s Passion with the Anapeson, the Holy Trinity in guise of the Hospitality of Abraham, with a heifer lamenting over a slaughtered calf, and the Communion of Apostles, with Judas heading communion with the wine - were painted under the influence of the liturgy served during Holy Week.
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- The icon of the Theotokos from the Church of St. Nicholas (Rajko’s Church) and the question of painting workshops in medieval Prizren
- Based on stylistic and paleographical analysis, it can be safely concluded that the icon of the Theotokos from the Church of St. Nicholas (Rajko’s Church) in Prizren was not created in the 14th century as previously believed. It was painted in the last third of the 16th century by an icon painter close to the circle of Serbian painters formed in Peć. The suggestion of stylistic ties between this icon and the first fresco layer at the Church of the Holy Savior in Prizren and the wall paintings in the Church of St. Nicholas (the Tutić Church) is not acceptable. Furthermore, comparison of wall paintings in these and other contemporaneous churches in the area of Prizren, as well as the local icon paintings, does not substantiate the suggestion that an urban painting workshop operated in 14th-century Prizren. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst and Grant no. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]
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- The iconography of light. A possible interpretation of the decoration of a three nozzle lamp from Viminacium
- This paper focuses on offering a possible iconographic interpretation of the decoration of a rare three nozzle lamp discovered in the ancient city of Viminacium, on the locality of a necropolis called Pećine, dated to the early fourth century. Among the numerous lamps unearthed at the site of this prominent Roman city, capital of Moesia Superior, this example stands out for its rectangular shape, three nozzles and a decoration of high artistic merit consisting of geometric and floral ornaments. Considering the function and meaning of lamps within the framework of Early Christian teachings, liturgy and burial practices, this imagery can be understood as visualization of concepts related to perceptions of eternity and otherworldly, divine light.
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- The iconostasis in Dečani - the original painted programme and subsequent changes
- The history of the iconostasis in the central nave of the church in Dečani can be divided into two periods. The icons of Christ, the Mother of God, John the Baptist and St. Nicholas on the original altar screen, painted around 1343, were related to the relics of King Stefan Dečanski and with the wall painting in the church space in front of the altar. The removal of those icons at the end of the sixteenth century and their replacement with new ones explains the strengthening cult of St. Stefan Dečanski. In 1577 an icon of St. Stephen was placed over the king’s portrait depicted in the fourteenth century fresco painting, and by 1593/1594, the new despotic icons of Christ and the Virgin were painted for the iconostasis, then an expanded Deesis that was placed above them, with a large cross fixed on the top. The central icons were painted by the painter Longin, and the cross is attributed to Andreja, a painter known for his frescoes from the seventh and eighth decade of the seventeenth century.
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- The inscription on the fresco “St. Nicholas takes basil from the house of Emir” in the church of St. Nicholas in Ramaća as a historical source
- This paper explores the contents and historical context of the Cyrillic inscription written in old Serbian language with some Turkish words on the fresco “St. Nicholas takes Basil from the house of Emir” from the Church of St. Nicholas in Ramaća. Based on an analysis of the historical circumstances and events that took place at the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century on the Balkan Peninsula and especially in the Lazarević Principality, it is assumed that the presence of Turkish words in the mentioned inscription implies the influences of Islamic heterodox dervishes in the Christian milieu. The dating of the fresco painting from the Church in Ramaća can be narrowed down to the time of the reign of Stefan Lazarević. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177025]
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- The painted program in the dome of the Church of St. George in Dobrilovina
- The fairly well-preserved fresco paintings in the dome of the Church of St. George at the Dobrilovina Monastery feature some rather unusual programmatic and iconographical solutions. The depiction of the Presanctified Liturgy and the figures of some Old Testament characters represented in the drum of the dome have no known parallels in the dome programs of Post-Byzantine monuments in the area of the Patriarchate of Peć. A troparion dedicated to the patron saint of the church was inscribed in the ring of the dome, which also bears evidence to the learnedness of the creator of this fresco ensemble, an important source for the research of Serbian wall paintings from the period after the restoration of the Patriarchate of Peć. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]
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- The painting of the northern wall of the narthex of the Church of the Virgin Peribleptos (st. Kliment) in Ohrid
- The author examines the figures and scenes painted on the northern wall of the narthex of the Church of the Virgin Peribleptos in Ohrid. He describes and interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the figures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel as guardians of the entrance to the church, and the choir of the saint anargyres (Panteleimon, Cosmas and Damian). He then proceeds to discuss the empty field above the northern do or of the narthex, the arcosolium and the tomb of Ostoja Rajaković. Finally, he refers to the penetration of a new passage on the eastern wall of the narthex, which resulted to the destruction of some figures from the earliest layer of frescoes in the church.
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- The post-Byzantine iconography of the individual punishments of the sinners in the depiction of hell in Northwestern Greece. Differences and similarities to the Cretan school of painting
- In the article we are examining the iconographical differences which occur in the depictions of the punishments of the sinners in the scene of the Last Judgement from the two major schools of the 16th c. The representatives of the Cretan school appear exceptionally conservative while, those of the school of Thebes continue the common Paleologan tradition and create rather provoking and intense scenes. Following that, we make a general presentation of the churches of Northwestern Greece, where this particular subject appears during the 15th-17th c. examining the continuity or not of specific iconographical motifs.
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- The questions of the artistic influences of the Christian east in Serbia in the late twelfth and thirteenth century and the paths of their transmission
- The paper analyses the questions of the influences of the Christian East on Serbian medieval art based on the works in which such impacts have been recognized in previous studies, carried out at the time when many Eastern Christian monuments had yet to be studied and published. They include the headpiece at the beginning of the Miroslav Gospel, the first-layer frescoes at the Hermitage of St. Peter of Koriša and the miniatures in the Prizren Gospel. Finally, the paper addresses the question of whether the influence of the Christian Orient reached Serbia via the Apennine Peninsula or came directly from the East. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]