Frescos of the monastery Saint Nicholas

Tradition of the XVI century art and the Turnovo art school

The author is unknown; the selected works are the frescos “Christ great archangel”; “Transfiguration of Christ”; 12 scenes from the life of the Mother of God in the monastery “Saint Nicholas” in Arbanasi.

Follows the tradition of the XVI century art and the Turnovo art school. This monument is a representative of the so called Arbanassi art school, which is a follower of the Turnovo art school and a predecessor of the Tryavna art schools.

Historically the monument is dated from the end of the epoch of the developed Turkish feudalism and the beginning of its decay. Artistically – this late-mediaeval art is influenced by the monk style of the Athos monasteries, but at the same time the murals demonstrate the formation of a national self-awareness.

The period of training of the artists coincides with the historical – late Turkish feudalism, during which time the training of the amateur artists /zografs/ happens either at the Athos monasteries or under the influence of objects painted according to the rules of Orthodox religious art. The art of the Arbanassi artist is anonymous.

Just like the rest of other Arbanassi churches built during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, “St. Nicholas” was destroyed in 1393 when sultan Boazid conquered the capital city of Turnovo. The church was reconstructed 300 years later and today represents the chapel “St. Iliya”, which is a part of the contemporary “St. Nicholas” monastery. At that time Arbanassi is already going through an economic and spiritual upheaval, many wealthy tradesmen connected with Athos, live there. Their aesthetic tastes and knowledge are high and their influence and support probably brought to the region some of the best traveling artists in Bulgaria.

The attention is focused on: Christ great archangel in the eastern part of the vault; 12 scenes from the life of the Mother of God; 6 scenes form the life of Christ. The art presented at the chapel is very different from the art presented in other Arbanassi churches from the same period. The plot registers are 4 instead of the usual 2. Palmet friezes separate the horizontal registers in stead of medallions. Many of the gospel plots presented are rare for the region at that time. The unknown artist had great professional artistic background, he is well acquainted with the gospel topics and eloquently creates complex artistic compositions. The images are plastically modeled through lights and shadows and reflect the different ages of the presented persons. The colors are rich, clear, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place. The nature scenes are less and the landscapes are stylized. There are no inscriptions with the name and time of the decorations.

The murals are related to the Athos monastic art school.

There neither is information on the personality of the artist, nor other monuments, which are considered to be created by him.

The paintings in the chapel of the church “Saint Nicholas” are very different from the ornaments of the rest of the churches existing during Ottoman yoke. The plot registers are 4 instead of the usual 2. The decoration scheme is considerably changed. Gospel scenes are a rarity.

Encyclopedia of visual arts in Bulgaria, volume. І, А – L. Sofia, Bulgarian academy of sciences, 1980, pages 47.
Georgi Chavrukov, “Bulgarian monasteries”, Sofia, 1978, pages 128 – 136.
Haritonov, Hristo Dosev et al. Arbanassi. - Sofia : Borina, 2003 (printed in the Czech republic) .
Monasteries in Bulgaria: An album. - Sofia: Spectrum, 1994.

http://www.bulgaria-trips.info/Arbanasi/Arbanasi.html
http://www.arbanassibg.com/page.php?lang=bg&dir=1&id=11
http://oikumen.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-post.html

Related Material:

Image available

File name: 19_bg - xvii - Christ great Archangel.jpg

Description of the material:

Christ great Archangel

Contextualisation Of the source:

Photography provided by dr. Stoycho Shishkov. Scanned image form the book on Arbanassi. A lot of good visual materials and ample reading information.

Interpretation of the source:

The images are plastically modeled through lights and shadows and reflect the different ages of the presented persons. The colors are rich, clear, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place.

File name: 19_bg - xvii - Mother of God.jpg

Description of the material:

Fragments from the cycle depicting the life of Mother of God.

Contextualisation Of the source:

Photography provided by dr. Stoycho Shishkov. Scanned image form the book on Arbanassi. A lot of good visual materials and ample reading information.

Interpretation of the source:

The art presented at the chapel is very different from the art presented in other Arbanassi churches from the same period. The images are plastically modeled through lights and shadows and reflect the different ages of the presented persons. The colors are rich, clear, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place.

File name: 19_bg - xvii - Scene from the life of Christ.jpg

Description of the material:

Scene from the life of Christ

Contextualisation Of the source:

Photography provided by dr. Stoycho Shishkov. Scanned image form the book on Arbanassi. A lot of good visual materials and ample reading information.

Interpretation of the source:

The images are plastically modeled through lights and shadows and reflect the different ages of the presented persons. The colors are rich, clear, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place.

File name: 19_bg - xvii - Ascension of Christ.jpg

Description of the material:

Ascension of Christ

Contextualisation Of the source:

Photography provided by dr. Stoycho Shishkov. Scanned image form the book on Arbanassi. A lot of good visual materials and ample reading information.

Interpretation of the source:

The images are plastically modeled through lights and shadows and reflect the different ages of the presented persons. The colors are rich, clear, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place.

File name: 19_bg - xvii -The registries.jpg

Description of the material:

The registries /4 instead of 2/

Contextualisation Of the source:

Photography provided by dr. Stoycho Shishkov. Scanned image form the book on Arbanassi. A lot of good visual materials and ample reading information.

Interpretation of the source:

Rich, clear colors, with precise and effective combinations. The architectural decoration takes up an important place.