Iconographical details of Western origin in some scenes of the Crucifixion from the end of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries* Maria Kolusheva** Institute of Art Studies, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria UDC 75.051:75.046.3](495)”15/16” 271.2-312.8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/ZOG2044205К Оригиналан научни рад The article discusses the presence of iconographical details integral study belongs to Angeliki Stavropoulou-Makri, of Western origin in the scene of Christ’s Crucifixion in the who outlines the main iconographical features of the post-Byzantine period. It focuses on the role of works by paint- scenes from two wall-painted ensembles in Epirus dated ers from the Cretan and Epirote schools in their distribution among the next generation of icon-painters. From here a de- to the third quarter of the sixteenth century; there, she tailed examination of the compositions of the Crucifixion on identifies the specific iconographical models that were three monuments in the territory of modern-day North Mace- borrowed from the Western tradition.2 Subsequently, her donia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, dated to the publication becomes a starting point for any author seek- late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, is carried out. ing to examine images in a similar context. The comparison with monuments from the same period origi- The present study offers a summary of the exist- nating mainly in Greek territories leads to hypotheses regard- ing the painters’ provenance or the place of their education. ing data in order to outline the stages of influence of the A rare version of the scene from the second half of the seven- Western details of the scene on the Balkan painters in the teenth century from the territory of Bulgaria is also discussed. fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and to track the influ- ence that earlier works exert upon wall painting from the Keywords: Crucifixion, iconography, Cretan school, Epirote school, painters’ workshops end of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth centuries. The analyzed material comes mainly from the territory of modern-day Greece, and it has already been The determination to preserve tradition is an es- described; however, a few examples of similar influence sential feature of Byzantine art. This applies even stronger from Slavic territories will be added. To the present mo- to works from the period of Ottoman rule. However, Or- ment, their specific features have remained outside the thodox art has never been an isolated system, especially scholars’ focus. The detailed examination of the individual with regards to iconography. A variety of influences can elements of the scenes, together with their comparison to be discerned at different historical moments; these de- known examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- pend on diverse factors, and they are expressed with vary- turies, will inevitably pose the question about the location ing intensity. In the post-Byzantine period, influences where the painters learned their trade, as well as about quite often come from the West. An apparent example of their affiliation to one common artistic circle that shares this is a version of the scene of Christ’s Crucifixion based similar iconographical characteristics of their works. upon models from the late Gothic period and the Italian Renaissance; it appears in icons and wall paintings in the *** Balkans in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Images of the scene containing Western elements have long in- An elaborate composition of the scene of the Cru- trigued researchers in Greece.1 The most profound and cifixion with a great number of narrative episodes was introduced in Italian painting as early as the fourteenth * The present study is the result of research carried out within century, and at approximately the same time in art in the project for support for young scholars and doctoral candidates Northern Europe, too. The evolution of the scene is con- Church painting in the territory of Bulgaria and the Greek painters from nected to the highly popular description of Christ’s Pas- the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century sions (Meditationes vitae Christi) by Pseudo-Bonaventure (contract ДФНП-17-119/28.07.2017), financed by the Bulgarian Acad- from the beginning of the fourteenth century. The pro- emy of Sciences. I would like to express my gratitude to my scientific consultant on the project, Assoc. Prof. Dr Margarita Kuyumdzhieva, cess is illustrated magnificently by the compositions of for her invaluable input. artists like Barna da Siena (1330–1350), Simone Martini ** [email protected] 1 Yet, there is no integral study of the phenomenon. Until the 2 A. Stavropoulou-Makri, La création d’une nouvelle formule de mid-1980s, the problem was discussed sporadically, mainly with refer- la Crucifixion et sa diffusion dans les Balkans, in: Ελληνικές ανακοινώ- ence to scenes of the Crucifixion on Cretan icons. Those publications σεις στο Ε΄ Διεθνές Συνέδριο Σπουδών Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης, Αθή- will be acknowledged at the relevant points of the article. να 1985, 241–253. 205 ЗОГРАФ 44 (2020) [205–225] Fig. 1. Crucifixion, detail, Theotokos Church in Meronas, Fig. 2. Crucifixion, Andreas Pavias, National Gallery of Athens, second Amari (ca 1380) (photo: M. Kolusheva) half of the fifteenth c. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki) (1285–1344), Pietro Lorenzetti (ca 1280–1348), Barnaba Holy Theotokos in Meronas, Amari (ca 1380) (fig. 1) and da Modena (1328–1381).3 The fainted Virgin Mary in the later in the exonarthex of Valsamonero Monastery (after arms of the women; grieving John next to her; Mary Mag- 1431).4 On several images from Crete there are also de- dalene kneeling at the base of Christ’s cross; Longinus as pictions of St Mary Magdalene kneeling at the feet of the one of the horsemen by the three crosses; the crowd of Saviour: a posture that is highly untypical for the Eastern witnesses of Christ’s death; the demon that grabs the im- Orthodox tradition.5 penitent thief’s soul: all these elements comprise a radi- A composition fully developed in the tradition of cally elaborate composition that contrasts with the known Western art can be found in works from the fifteenth cen- images in Byzantine art where the strictly symbolical na- tury, once again by Cretan painters. The icon from the Na- ture of the scene is preserved even in the most extensively tional Museum in Stockholm,6 as well as that from Odigi- narrative versions. tria Church on Kimolos Island,7 dates from the first half of The first indications that Orthodox painters were familiar with such compositions are found among the 4 M. Μπορμπουδάκη, Η τοιχογραφική διακόσμηση του ναού painters who were in immediate contact with the late της Παναγίας στο χωριό Μέρωνας Αμαρίου. Νεα στοιχεία, in: Αφιέρω- Gothic and Renaissance art in Italy, such as those from μα στον ακαδημαϊκό Παναγιώτη Λ. Βοκοτόπουλο, ed. Β. Κατσάρος, Α. the island of Crete. Horsemen, with the centurion Longi- Τούρτα, Αθήνα 2015, 421, εικ. 5. According to the author, the distribu- tion of elements of Western origin on wall paintings on the island is nus among them in some of the compositions, appear as limited (ibid., 422). early as the second half of the fourteenth century in the 5 In the churches St Stephan in Kastri, Milopotamos (1391) scene in the churches St Paraskevi in Viannos (1360), and St John in Seli (1411). V. A. Foskolou, Mary Magdalene between East and West. Cult and image, relics and politics in the late thirteenth- 3 For detailed visual material v. M. Κωνσταντουδάκη-Κιτρο- century Eastern Mediterranean, DOP 65–66 (2011–2012) figs. 14–15. μηλίδου, Τρίπτυχο με σκηνές από το Πάθος του Χριστού στη Δημοτική 6 M. Vassilaki suggests that it was done by a painter from Con- Πινακοθήκη της Ραβέννας, Θησαυρίσματα 18 (1981) 165; Stavropou- stantinople or Crete (Χειρ Αγγέλου. Ένας ζωγράφος εικόνων στη βενε- lou-Makri, La création, 244, n. 9; X. Proestaki, Western influences on τοκρατούμενη Κρήτη, ed. Μ. Βασιλάκη, Αθήνα 2010, 90–91, nο. 11). 17th-century post-Byzantine wall paintings in the Peloponnese: roots in 7 The icon contains many unusual details: to the right of 206 the 16th century, BS 68 (2010) 294–296. Christ’s cross a Catholic priest serves the Eucharistic mystery with Kolusheva M.: Iconographical details of Western origin in some scenes of the Crucifi xion from the end of the sixteenth... Fig. 3. Crucifixion, Stavronikita Monastery, 1545/1546, Teophanes the Cretan (after: Χατζηδάκης, Ο κρητικός) the fifteenth century; the icon by Andreas Pavias (1440– we find the composition in Holy Theotokos Eleusa Po- 1504) from the National Gallery of Athens8 (fig. 2), as well dithou Church in Galata (sixteenth century).11 as that from the Loverdos Collection (ca 1500)9 – from the In the Balkans, post-Byzantine painting and the big second half of the fifteenth century. The renowned Cretan art schools that formed around painters from Crete or painter Georgios Klontzas, known for his work from the from locations in the Balkans that maintained close re- late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries also created lations with the Western world reached its zenith in the several triptychs that are similar to late Gothic Crucifixion 10 second half of the sixteenth century. Among these paint- scenes. In Cyprus, also under strong Western influence, ers are Theophanes the Cretan and Zorzis, authors of the mural paintings in the most influential monasteries on Christ’s blood which pours down into a goblet; another priest performs Mount Athos and the Meteora,12 as well as Frangos Kate- a holy baptism with the water from Christ’s wound; on top of the cross there is an allegoric depiction of a pelican with its young.