Paintings of the Refectory of the Annunciation Church in the Village of Knyazhevo in the Artistic Culture of the Bezhetsky Region

In recent decades there has been a reassessment of 19th century church culture. Consideration of the outstanding monuments of mural painting allows us to draw a conclusion about the outstanding character of the art of the Russian province. The relevance of the study of murals is connected with the total destruction of rural churches. The painting of the refectory in 1893 in the Annunciation Church in the village of Knyazhevo organically fits into the artistic context and continues the tradition of church monumental painting of the Bezhetsky region. On the example of the main cycle of subjects based on “The Beatitudes” the engravings-samples from the Bible by Christoph Weigel (1695) and compositions from various churches of Bezhetsky district are considered. Although engravings played a significant role, they did not hinder the independent development of art. The article analyses various variants of reproduction of graphic prototypes in mural painting. An assumption is made that local masters had a hitherto unknown prototype based on Weigel’s engravings. Archaic prototypes were organically combined with more modern ones, both Russian and foreign. Eclecticism stylistics, professionalism of masters and a powerful local school allowed combining different directions into a single whole. Paintings were created in accordance with the forms of architecture. Ornamental design helped to organically arrange compositions on walls and vaults. The artistic culture of the Bezhetsky region proved to be so stable that it allowed to recycle recognisable prototypes and demonstrate a wide range of pictorial means for many decades until the end of the 19th century. For the first time, the author’s diagram of the mural arrangement of the refectory is published.

1. Alitova R.F., Nikitina T.L. Tserkovnye stennye rospisi Rostova Velikogo i Rostovskogo uezda XVIII — nachala XX veka: katalog [The Church Wall Paintings in Rostov the Great and Rostov District of the 18th — Early 19th Century: catalogue]. Moscow, Severnyi Palomnik Publ., 2008, 600p.

2. Ivanov P.S. Khramy Novotorzhskoi zemli: tserkovno-kraevedcheskie ocherki [The Temples of the Novotorzhsky Land. The Church-Local Lore Essays]. Tver, 2010, 128 p.

3. Krivosheina N.V. Khramovaya dekoratsiya Vyatki: ikonograficheskie programmy i khudozhestvenno-stilevye resheniya rospisei [The Temple Decoration of Vyatka: Iconographic Programs and Artistic and Stylistic Solutions of Paintings], Doct. art sci. diss. abstr. Yekaterinburg, 2012, 41 p.

4. Pavlova A.L. Tserkovnaya stenopis’ severo-vostoka Tverskogo kraya v XIX veke [The Church Wall Painting of the North-Eastern Tver Region in 19th Century]. Moscow, KURS Publ., 2022, 439 p.

5. Komashko N.I. The Wall Paintings of the St. Trinity Church in the Krasnoe-Sumarokovo Village of Nerekhta District of 1768 and Temple Paintings of the Volga Region of the Third Quarter of the 18th Century, XI Filevskie chteniya: sbornik tezisov odinnadtsatoi nauchnoi konferentsii po problemam russkoi khudozhestvennoi kul’tury XVII — pervoi poloviny XVIII v. (24—26 dekabrya 2012 g.) [The 11th Filyovsky Readings. Proceedings of the 11th Scientific Conference on the Russian Artistic Culture of 17th — the First Half of 18th Century. (December 24 — 28, 2012)]. Moscow, 2012, pp. 39—41.

6. Nikitina T.L. Monumental Wall Painting of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in the Village Kurba, Arkhitekturnoe nasledstvo [Architectural Heritage], 2017, no. 66, pp. 81—91 (in Russ.).

7. Yurieva T.V. Paintings of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Kurba, Verkhnevolzhskii filologicheskii vestnik [Verkhnevolzhski Philological Bulletin], 2017, no. 3, pp. 80—84 (in Russ.).

8. Krasilin M.M. The Wall Paintings and Inscriptions in the Kazan Cathedral of Tambov (preliminary publication), Russkoe tserkovnoe iskusstvo Novogo vremeni [Russian Church Art of the New Time]. Moscow, Indrik Publ., 2004, pp. 174—182 (in Russ.).

9. Daen M.E. Akademik zhivopisi portretnoi i istoricheskoi Platon Semenovich Tyurin [The Academician of Portrait and Historical Painting Platon Semyonovich Tyurin]. Vologda, Drevnosti Severa Publ., 2017, 215 p.

10. Isayeva N.N. The Church Murals by T.A. Medvedev and the Masters of His Circle, Pamyatniki russkoi arkhitektury i monumental’nogo iskusstva [Monuments of Russian Architecture and Monumental Art]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2010, issue 8, pp. 409—438 (in Russ.).

11. Isayeva N.N. The Church Wall Painting, Istoriya Russkogo iskusstva v 22 t. [History of Russian Art in 22 volumes]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennyi Institut Iskusstvoznaniya: Severnyi Palomnik Publ., 2011, vol. 14, pp. 388—411 (in Russ.).

12. Galashevich A.A., Kolpakova G.S. The Icon Painting Masters of Tver Region in the End of 16th — Early 20th Centuries: materials for the dictionary of Tver Icon Painters, Russkaya kul’tura XVI—XX vv.: materialy, issledovaniya, publikatsii [Russian Culture of the 16th—20th Centuries: Materials, Researches, Publications]. Tver, Liliya Print Publ., 2006, issue 4, pp. 3—47 (in Russ.).

13. Koltsova T.M. Severnye ikonopistsy: opyt biobibliograficheskogo slovarya [Northen Icon Painters: an Experience of a Bio-Bibliographic Dictionary]. Arkhangelsk, Severo-Zapadnoe Knizhnoe Izdatel’stvo, 1998, 192 p.

14. Pavlova A.L. Russian Provincial Church Mural Painting of the 19th Century in the Art History, Aktual’nye problemy teorii i istorii iskusstva: sb. nauch. statei [Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: collected articles]. St. Petersburg, Izd-vo Sankt-Peterburgskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta, 2022, issue 12, pp. 378—387. DOI: 10.18688/aa2212-04-28 (in Russ.).

15. Puganova E.L. “The Bible in Pictures” Based on Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld’s Drawings as a Model for Icon Painting, Rumyantsevskie chteniya — 2021: materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii: v 2 ch. [Rumiantsev Readings — 2021: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference: in 2 parts]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2021, part 2, pp. 206—210 (in Russ.).

16. Pavlova A.L. The Evangelists by V.L. Borovikovsky as a Pattern for the Church Wall Paintings of the Tver Region in 19th Century, Aktual’nye problemy teorii i istorii iskusstva: sbornik nauchnykh statei [Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: collected articles]. St. Petersburg, Izd-vo Sankt-Peterburgskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta, 2018, pp. 223—231. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa188-2-21 (in Russ.).

17. Smirnov G.K. (ed.) Svod pamyatnikov arkhitektury i monumental’nogo iskusstva Rossii (SPAMIR). Tverskaya oblast’. Ch. 2 [The Code of Architectural Monuments and Monumental Art of Russia. The State Institute of Fine Art. Tver Region. Part 2]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2006, 740 p.

18. Postnikov I.N. Pastyr’ Dobryi (k konchine protoiereya Bezhetskoi kladbishchenskoi tserkvi I.I. Preobrazhenskogo) [The Good Shepherd (to the Death of the Archpriest of Bezhetskaya Cemetery Church I.I. Preobrazhensky]. Tver, 1911, Reprint Publ., Tver, Tvorcheskaya Masterskaya Lyudmily Yuga Publ., 2021, 18 p.

19. Schnorr von Carolsfeld J. Bibliya v illyustratsiyakh. Gravyury na dereve [Illustrated Bible. Woodcuts]. Korntal, Svet na Vostoke Publ., 2002, 255 p.

20. Weigel Ch. Biblia Ectipa: Bildnusser aus Heilige Schrifft Alt und Neuen Testaments. Augsburg, Selbstverl Publ., 1695, 452 p.

21. Pavlova A.L. The Iconography and Style of Murals of the Church of Transfiguration in the Village of Nikola-Vysoka, Arkhitekturnoe nasledstvo [Architectural Heritage], 2021, no. 75, pp. 79—101 (in Russ.).