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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- Churches and donors in the Treskavac chrysobulls of King Dušan
- Based on a rereading of King Dušan’s chrysobulls to the Treskavac Monastery, the paper indicates a link between the sacred space of the Treskavac Monastery on the mountain and the urban space - i.e. the medieval city of Prilep and the nobility - at the foot of the mountain. Judging by these charters, the reasons for bestowing donations on the Treskavac Monastery by the numerous members of the aristocracy in Pelagonia and Prilep seem to suggest a religious and funerary context. At the same time, the paper aims to highlight sacred topography, i.e. the churches in the possession of the Treskavac Monastery which made up a sacred network on the territory of Prilep and were vertically, spiritually and economically tied to the monastery on the mountain.
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- Classicisation or representation?
- The idea of mimesis in art theory has been neglected by Byzantine scholars. Reasons for this may lie in the fact that the understanding of the term in Byzantium was very complex and that it changed over time. In the Early Byzantine period and the so-called Macedonian Renaissance, a tendency to use tonal modelling, which was inherited from ancient Greco-Roman art, can still be observed. Starting in the late tenth century they give way to a more linear style. Simultaneously, a change in the understanding of mimesis in theological writings can also be observed. The aim of this paper is to introduce the problem of a mimetic approach in visual arts as a phenomenon in Byzantine culture.
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- Colourful sparkles of imaginary vistas
- The article deals with the issue of physical appearance of the saintly images in Byzantine painting and the manners of its conception. In that regard, the paper offers categorization of the portraiture in which different saints receive distinctive aesthetic code appropriate to their type of “attractiveness”.
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- Comments on the artistic interchange between conquered Byzantium and Venice as well as on its political background
- Political choices and historical imperatives dictated a rapprochement of the Eastern and Western Churches in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Venetian state, attracted by the superiority of Byzantine culture, always coveted a seat among its beneficiaries, while renowned Byzantine exiles sought Venetian assistance against the Ottomans. The Orthodox artworks they brought with them, gave the artists of Renaissance Venice the opportunity to commune with the art of Constantinople, creating new cultural contributions. In the first decades of the sixteenth century, the political and religious alliances of Ohrid and the West were associated with a Venetian-inspired artistic revival in painting on the territory of the Archbishop of Ohrid.
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- Concerning the Chronology of Cimabue's Oeuvre and the Origin of Pictorial Depth in Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages
- A study devoted to the gradual emergence of pictorial depth in Cimabue's paintings, and how it applies, together with other factors, to the understanding of their sequential chronology. The conclusions reached underscore the vast difference in Cimabue 's conservative art and the exceptional naturalism of the evolving Life of Saint Francis mural cycle lining the lower nave walls in the upper church of San Francesco at Assisi.
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- Cult of the St. Isauros in Durres
- On the basis of well-known hagiographic, diplomatic and sphragistic sources, this paper reconstructs the presence and significance of the cult of Saint Isauros in Durres. The sources show that this saint, martyr from the time of the emperor Numerianus, was venerated in Durres from the beginning of the eleventh to the end of the fourteenth century. Together with Saint Asteios, the Bishop of Durres, he was the patron of the Cathedral of Durres, which indicates the special importance of Saint Isauros’ cult in this city.
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- Depiction of the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius Theophorus in the prothesis of Novo Hopovo
- In the art of the Christian East, the depictions of the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius Theophorus, bishop of Antioch, can usually be found among the illustrations of the Menologion. The scene from the monastery of Novo Hopovo, dated to the 1600s, is one of the rare independent depictions of Saint Ignatius’s martyrdom. The paper discusses the iconography of this scene and possible reasons for placing it in the prothesis of the katholikon of Novo Hopovo. The inclusion of a scene showing the martyrdom of the bishop of Antioch into the thematic repertoire of this compartment is a solitary example in Serbian medieval and Byzantine monumental painting. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]
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- Depictions of Christ’s ancestors in the altar of Markov Manastir. A contribution to research
- The paper discusses the figures on the bema of the altar apse in the Church of St. Demetrios of Markov Manastir (Marko’s Monastery) painted in 1376/1377. It offers a more detailed overview of the programmatic and iconographic characteristics of previously known depictions of the Virgin’s ancestors and identifies the second ancestral couple. Following a reexamination of hypotheses that have been suggested so far, the paper concludes that the second pair of Old Testament personages should be identified as representing the original ancestors of humanity - Adam and Eve. The visual solution incorporating Sts. Joachim and Anne as well as Adam and Eve is highly unusual. The paper also discusses the peculiar thematic concept in the central apse of Markov Manastir, which was conceived so as to draw attention of the faithful to the human nature of Christ, while the choice of ancestors underlines the role of the Virgin’s parents in the economy of salvation and emphasizes the theological idea of absolution from ancestral sin and the rebirth of humanity beginning with the incarnation of God-Man. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177003: Srednjovekovno nasleđe Balkana: institucije i kultura]
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- Depictions of holy monks in the western bay of the Church of the Virgin in Studenica
- The study is dedicated to the figures of holy monks in the west bay of the Church of the Virgin in Studenica, painted during the restoration of the original murals in 1568. The paper seeks to establish the identity of some saints who were previously incorrectly identified, as well as the identity of those who were unobserved in previous studies. It also discusses to what extent the choice of holy monks to be depicted was determined by the original iconographic program. The research results confirm the hypothesis that has for long been present in scholarly literature; according to it, during the restoration of frescoes in the Studenica katholikon, the painters largely repeated the original painted program. Nevertheless, judging by the example of the holy monks depicted in west bay, it may be concluded that in some cases they departed from the original iconographic program. In selecting new saints to be depicted they must have relied on the Menologion. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]
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- Diary entries and photographic documentation of J.A.R. Munro related to the archaeological exploration of Doclea (Montenegro) in 1893
- This article presents the as yet unpublished diary entries and photographic documentation of J. A. R. Munro related to the archaeological exploration of Doclea in 1893, the year when remains of Christian cult buildings, basilica A, basilica B, and a cruciform church, were discovered in the eastern part of the city. Munro’s diary entries and photographs render our understanding of Christian topography of Late Antique Doclea more complete.
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- Doljani-Zlatica, Podgorica. The Remains of Early Christian Buildings
- The paper deals with the early Christian site found in the village of Doljani, near the ancient city of Duklja (Doclea). The findings are commented on and drawings are attached. The proximity of the city of Duklja is taken into account, and the possible influence of Ravenna during its Byzantine period.
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- Du don surnaturel de la couronne
- Le don surnaturel de la couronne est analysé en fonction des occurrences textuelles et figuratives, replacé dans leur contexte historique. Partant d'une approche anthropologique du don, les rapports manifestés entre les acteurs présents dans le texte et/ou dans l'image trouvent leur valeur sémantique explicitée. Sémantiquement et figurativement, la représentation de la couronne varie à travers les siècles. Ainsi, le geste du don de la couronne résume tantôt une ambivalence entre pouvoir et sacrifice, tantôt une idée d'universalité du pouvoir, tantôt encore une idée de triomphe et d'immortalité, mais toujours la délégation surnaturelle d'une grâce. .