Byzantine Hagiography & Decoration

[akritas]

First I want to thanks Torontezos and eastlbg for their informations.

As you know the Slavic propaganda using in the Byzantine icons in order to proov that they using the so-called macedonia Star and Sun from the Byzantium era.
They claim and called the Byzantium art as Macedonian art!!! They forget of course that the religion art painting called with the known Hellenic term Hagiography.

Bellow an article from Mr Odysseas Koutakis that explain the history of the Byzantine Hagiography

From ancient times Man always needed help, help which he thought could come nowhere else but from the Creator. Indeed he strongly believed, from the very depth of his soul, in the existence of an Almighty Creator, and therefore often sacrificed what more precious he had till sometimes his own life. Such are in the Book of Genesis from the Old Testament the sacrifice offered to God by Abel, the Prophets' devotion, the Saints' obedience, as we read in the summons to Abraham to sacrifice his own son, Iob's endurance towards God's will, The Virgin Mary's compliance to the invitation of God when visited by the Archangel Gabriel, Jesus Christ's total adherence to God's plan to be sacrificed on the cross for our redemption, later the first Saints' persecutions, slaughters and many other trials they endured under the Roman Emperors during the catacombs times, offering their blood in God's name and faith.

This deep belief, did men wanted to keep well alive in their memories and this forever. This we see at the time of the Apostles with Luke the Evangelist, producing abundant icons of the Virgin Mary together with Jesus Christ, and thereafter through the centuries we see this Art flourishing and expressing Christians' Faith. In Eastern Europe, where Art from Byzantium and especially from Constantinople dominated and generated a drawings' database sourcing Eastern countries and even Western areas. During The Middle Age , Constantinople became Capital of Byzantine Art , but even Iconography had its persecutors, for opponents to sacred icons 'the Iconoclasts', forbade representation of Holy Icons. The clash over icons ended in 843 and then only, could this sacred form of paintings sets forth again. This was the return to Holy Iconography and we notice major works of art from the 9th to the 12th century, real wonders of Byzantine Art. Dating from that period are beautiful wall-paintings to be seen inside the Karchei Mosque and in Saint Sophia of Constantinople, at Orchidas in Yugoslavia, in the Crypt of Osios Lukas in Boetia. Likewise in Cappadocian churches of Minor Asia are to be found exquisite wall-paintings dating 9th to 13th centuries.
But really the Palaeologan dexterity leaves us totally amazed. After 1350 though Art was influenced in its very essence by different humanistic and monastic currents thus resulting in the discontinuity of this technique.

The Turkish occupation affected Art just as much as any other component of our cultural life. The aftermath of the Turkish Empire 15th - 19th centuries was to be felt strongly in all Balkan Countries as well as other European ones that Ottoman Turks had dominated. Regardless, this Art was preserved, since for Christians, it had religious and ethnical significance. This fact concerns more the Serbians Greeks and Bulgarians and is confirmed during the Turkish Empire by the wall-paintings found in our monasteries of Agios Oros Megisti Lavras 1535, Koultoumousios 1540, Stavronikita 1546, Xenophontos 1563, Meteora Agio Nikolao 1527, Metamorphoseos 1545, and other churches of Greece as in Kastoria Agios Apostolon 1547, Virgin Raziotissa 1553 and in Serbia's Maratsa 1574, Belika Chotza in Prizren 1570 and so on…

The principal painters of the 16th c. were Cretans such as Theophane, Neophitos, Kiriazis, Zorzis, and Antonios. The political conjuncture played an important role in the extraordinariness of Cretan painters. Crete, due to the Venetian occupation lasting from 1204 till mid 17th century was left untouched by the Turkish Empire and hosted refugees from Mistra and Constantinople generating consequently an appropriate ground for artistic creations, in the field of Sacred Iconography, which could then respond demands from Turkish-occupied monasteries. This is the most important age for Cretan Workshops which were not limited to the Agios Oros' but spread through all Greek monasteries, the Sinai Monastery, the Patriarchates of Cairo and Russia. The period of Cretan Workshops lasted from the fall of Byzantium until Crete's domination by Turks in 1669.

Generally speaking the Greek Byzantine Holy Iconography metamorphosed after the 17th century , embracing the whole of the enslaved Orthodoxy. We could say the survival of Byzantine Art during the Turkish Empire epoch proves for Christians' Faith.

The Greeks continued with tenacity their traditions in favor of Orthodoxy and Hellinism. This heritage in Holy Iconography imposes on us the responsibility to preserve this legacy, and we, today's painters of Sacred Icons, to produce and transmit to forthcoming generations a work as valuable as that of those times knowing we, in our turn, will be assessed by them.

[akritas]

Now some Hagiographies that are outside from the FYROM and show clearly the presence of the "Sun-Star"

Greco-Palestinian (probably Jerusalem School), late 18th century



The Resurrection of Christ from the Agia Irini in Agios Mamas(Crete)
late 14th century





Russian, early 19th century





Greek, early 18th century





source:
http://www.templegallery.com/pages/about.htm

any adding information will be usefull