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- Title
RYTŲ BALTARUSIJOS ŠV ENTOVIŲ SIENŲ TAPYBA XV III A.
- Authors
Trifonova, Natalja
- Abstract
The article summarizes information regarding the sources and materials concerning temple wall paintings of the 18th century. Information about the artists who worked in this region and the founders of the churches is presented in this article. Most of the attention is given to the décor of the Carmelite Convents of Byalynichy, Mahilyow and Mstsislaw. In the documents of the monastery of Byalynichy, mention is made of the painting of the walls and vault of the temple which were completed in 1760. Current investigators can access only fragments of the compositions painted with a gluing technique that decorated the walls of the stairwell of the monastery. During the restoration between 1986 and 1994 of Mahilyow Church, the date of 1767 and barely legible signature of Januarij Szwabowicz, an artist and head of this monastery, was uncovered. The restorers of this church, apart from the decorative motifs, discovered compositions depicting scenes from the saints' lives, the foundation of Carmelite monks' and the affirmation of the Carmelite regulation. By decree of Catherine II in 1783 the Carmelite Church of Mahilyow turned into the residence of Stanisław Bohusz-Siestrzencewicz, the metropolitan of the Belarusian Catholics. It is possible to conjecture that at that time the wall painting of the interior was renewed or that new painting cycles were created, the author of which apparently was A. Glovackis, a painter who worked in Mahilyow The action depicted in these frescoes takes place against a background of architecture or sky which is framed by architectural elements that are painted illusionistically. The elements of the architectural decorations were executed following the rules of perspective illusion. The wall painting of the Mstislaw Church and the arrangements of its side altars are dated to the turn of the 6th and 7th decades of the 18th century by the author. The illusionistic retable of the high altar is characterized by its baroque forms. In the altar the Prophet Elijah, Carmelite monks and other Saints along with their attributes are depicted. Among the various compositions of the side walls we see the scene of the Mstislaw assault. This composition reflects events from the 1654 war with Moscow. The similarities between these discussed compositional solutions and some monuments in the surroundings of Lvov and Poland provide a precedent for certain plastic stereotypes that are related to the didactic treatment of this subject. At the same time, the aim to render the charm of the living natural or material world can be detected in these compositions. This tendency is most overt in the subjects associated with the history of the Carmelite Order; these are images that realistically reveal views of cities, the details of everyday life and elements of stilllives. Among those personages depicted, the portraits of the church founders and their coats of arms are most common. There is no doubt that this is due to the fact that the churches were built using money donated by local noblemen. In the wall painting of the Mahilyow Carmelite Church we can discover a rare self-portrait of the artist himself.
- Subjects
BELARUS; TEMPLE design &; construction; ARCHITECTURE &; religion; BELARUSIAN painting; ATTRIBUTION of paintings; ARCHITECTURAL design; EIGHTEENTH century; RELIGIOUS facilities; HISTORIC sites
- Publication
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, 2008, Issue 51, p113
- ISSN
1392-0316
- Publication type
Article