Icons of Macedonia - II
- Go to part I -

        Home | Back | Buy this book about Macedonian Icons

THE OLDEST SURVIVING ICONS FROM THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CENTURIES

The largest number of old icons to have been discovered so far is in Ohrid, the ancient capital of the first state of the Macedonian Slavs and a museum-town4 where at every step one comes across medieval cultural monuments. Among the numerous churches in this town the following are the most interesting: the ruins of the oldest Slav monastery on the Balkans, with the church dedicated to St. Panteleimon. It contains the grave of the Slavonic educator St. Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of the brothers from Thessaloniki, Cyril and Methodius, who built the church with his own hands. The architecture of this church of Clement's, of rectangular shape with an inserted cross, was to become one of the most attractive and long-lasting forms in mediaeval church architecture in Macedonia. St. Sophia, the cathedral church of the Ohrid archbishops, was built on a very old Early Christian sacred site, probably in the reign of Czar Samuil, when efforts were being made to stabilise his patriarchate. In it there is fresco-painting from towards the middle of the eleventh century, the work of anonymous painters. The theological content in the frescoes in this church is considered to be one of the most complete and best-preserved examples of such from eleventh century Romaoian. Here there are portraits of
the Slavonic educators Ss. Cyril, Clement of Ohrid and Methodius.
It is not known to which church the oldest icon discovered so far in Macedonia belonged. This small, badly damaged icon depicts the Forty Warrior Martyrs of Sebaste. It should immediately be stated that this, the oldest Ohrid icon, is also the oldest Romaoian icon with this subject to have been discovered43. Professor Voijslav J. Duri6* says: "Besides the famous fourteenth century mosaic icon of the Forty Martyrs in Dumbarton Oaks and another, documentarily unpublished icon from Chilandari, the Ohrid icon makes a third, and the oldest of this type." There is, however, yet another icon, dating from the mid-twelfth century, where the composition of the Forty Martyrs is very well preserved, which one could say is the closest to the one in Ohrid. It is in tempera on wood. Here, the figure of Jesus Christ, depicted in a semicircular medallion on the upper part of the icon, has been preserved complete. In view of the fact that in the Ohrid icon the figure of Christ is partially damaged, we can, with the aid of the aforementioned icon, obtain a clear impression of how it looked. In both hands. Christ holds a crown above the heads of the half-naked martyrs on the frozen lake. This very well preserved icon is to be found today in the State Museum of History and Ethnography of Svenetija in Mestija, Georgia.45
In fresco-painting there are several examples of compositions on this subject. The oldest is certainly that in the church of Santa Maria Antica in Rome (seventh to eighth centuries). In Macedonia this subject can be found in the alter-space of the church of St. Sophia in Ohrid and it was also panted in the church of St. Leontius in Vodo(.a46, both dating from the eleventh century. At a later date this subject was to be painted in iea, Deeani and Lesnovo and in many other churches. There are also well known miniatures such as that in the British Museum47 and the Moscow Synodal Library48. There are also icons worked in ivory, such as those from Herlin and St. Peterburg.49
In the Ohrid icon, as well as in the compositions mentioned so far, the martyrs are generally arranged in four rows. They are reacting in various ways to the process of freezing: some of them are calm and reflective, some anxious, with raised hands and eyes turned towards the Saviour painted above their heads, while others have fainted from their suffering. Analysis shows that the painting of this icon has all the characteristics of eleventh century painting and that it is closest to the painting in St. Sophia in Ohrid. The anonymous painter shows himself to be a master of icon-painting technique. To this day his colours have not lost their intensity and freshness. The line of the drawing, although emphatic,
artfully gives shape to the forms, giving them a special expressiveness. In his use of colours, the anonymous painter is very close to the painter of the icons in the church of St. Leontius il Vodoea. They both use the same means to differentiate the figures, painting one face in warm ochre tones and another in dark green with cold tones. It is hard to tell whether the icons is the work of local or of Constantinopolitan painters. It is well known that at this time the cult of the Forty Warrior Saints, the Martyrs of S ebaste, was very widespread in Constantinople°. However, as we have seen, this cult also existed in Macedonia. In recent years there has been increasing mention of the role of local painters and their impact on mediaeval painting. This is because among the works of these painters there increasingly appeared
some which do not have the refinement of such centres of painting as Constantinople and Thessaloniki, which leads to the conclusion that local painters were also active.
It was the hand of just such a master, in this case a very skilful goldsmith, however, which worked the small icon carved in stone dedicated to St. John the Divine. The saint is shown in half length, facing left, with his head in profile. In his hands he holds a thick book. He is shown as a balding, elderly man with a short-trimmed beard and moustache. There is a large halo round his head. The figure of the saint is in has relief, while the letters of the legend are engraved on the flat surface of the stone. On the basis of its stylistic characteristics, this small icon may be dated from the end of the eleventh century. The unknown artist, despite his skilful mastery of the technique of working miniature reliefs in stone, does not belong to the group of the more eminent creative artists of his time.
In view of the fact that it is a valuable piece which is in question, and in view of the difficulties involved in producing such work and the time it takes, it may be assumed that it is the work of a more important figure who may have been connected to the well-established town of Prosek, which was built in the Vardar basin at one of the most important strateigic points on the road to Thessaloniki.
When we speak of easel painting in this period, we would give particular emphasis to the existence of two icons: the first is dedicated to the Mother of God and the second to the Archangel Gabriel. Together, the two icons constitute the well-known composition of the Annunciation. The first to draw these icons to the attention of scholars, at the beginning of this century, was N.E Kondakov2: he dated them as being from the eleventh or twelfth century. During his visit to Ohrid in 1900, Kondakov encountered these icons on the wooden iconostasis in the church of the Mother of God Peribleptos (St. Clement's). Several significant elements contributed to their being dated as from the eleventh century. Firstly there was the style of the painting and then the inscription surviving on an enamel plaque where the name Leo is mentioned. Kondakov linked it to the name of Leo, Archbishop of Ohrid 1037-56. However, more recently other opinions have been advanced which associate these icons with the period of another archbishop of Ohrid who bore the same name, Leo. This is Archbishop Leo Mungo (1108-20), who is mentioned in records as being a Christianised Jew who succeeded to the throne of the Ohrid archbishops after his missionary assignment among the linguists and who for that reason was known as "the teacher of the linguists''3.
A study of these icons in the course of their conservation led to new and valuable discoveries. The removal of the metal revdtements revealed a layer of patina built up over years, which pointed to the icons hav-
ing been used for a considerable period of time without their revdtements. A second important elements is the conclusion that the unknown artist damaged the wooden panel and the layer of paint on which the names had been painted during the process of affixing the revdtements and of making a bed for the enamel plaques which bore the names in the revdtements. All this suggests that the icons were painted and the revdtements affixed at different times. It has also become clear that when the icons left the workshop there was no inscription which could have mentioned the donor's name. This was done on the enamel plaques incorporated in the revdtement where the name Leo is mentioned. Accordingly, the linking of the icons with Archbishop Leo of Ohrid, Chartophylax of the Church of Constantinople, who occupied the archiepiscopal throne of Ohrid from 1037 to 1056 was the result of a stylistic analysis which place the icon in the middle of the eleYenth century and also of the influence of the name Leo on the enamel plaques. Analysis of the painting of the anonymous master indicates that these icons cannot be connected with the work of the St. Sophia painters, or at least not with the work of the master painter there. Therefore the question of whether a more precise dating of these icons is possible arises once more.
According to the Du Cange Catalogue, Theodule, who built the "upper great church" in Ohrid, succeeded Archbishop Leo on the archiepiscopal throne, i.e. in 1057. This proves to be of great significance because it points to the fact that in the second half of the eleventh century another church, a "great one", was built in Ohrid. On the basis of this Ivan Snegarov4 advances the opinion that the "great" church could be the wellknown church, preserved to this date, of the Holy Mother of God the Shepherd, built on the very ramparts above the tower of the defence wall and immediately above the entrance to the city. However, Professor Dim(.e Koco, in his study of the Church of the Holy Mother of God the Shepherd55, comes to the conclusion that it was not built until the close of the fourteenth century, and that it could not possibly have any connection with the "great" church which bore the name "Upper" and was built by Archbishop Theodule of Ohrid with the help of the important local figure Ivan AndZo. Moreover, the name "Upper" for the great church makes possible another hypothesis. It is known that within the town itself, only a hundred yards from the Upper Gate, there still stands a small church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God Pandonos. Undoubtedly this church was built on an older cult site, in our opinion on the foundations of a one-time larger shrine which, according to tradition, gave its name to this little church built at a later date. Being near the Upper Gate, the church of the Mother of God Pandonos may have acquired the name "Upper" because it really was very close to the Upper Gate, i.e. closer than any other church in this part of
Ohrid. If Archbishop Theodule, with the help of the eminent Ivan And2o, facilitated the building of this church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, it is possible that in decorating his church he commissioned a composition of the Annunciation on two panels, the two icons which could be considered to be the richest possible variant. Moreover, as Kondakov points out, the appearance of the Annunciation painted on separate icons was customary practice in Romaoian churches, where the Annunciation done in fresco was also painted separately on the columns above the alter-space6. In view of the fact that Archbishop Theodule came to the archiepiscopal throne in 1057 and remained there until his death in 1065, the more precise placing of the icons of the Holy Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel which constitute the Annunciation can be associated with this date. The gilded silver revYtetnents, as we have pointed out, are of a much later date, the time of Archbishop Leo Mungo.
Undoubtedly, the revYtements of these two icons are one of the oldest such entities preseved in Macedonia.
The revYtements of the icon of the Archangel Gabriel cover the frame and lower part of the icon to the height of the archangel's knees. On the lower part there is stylised floral ornamentation in repouss6. The enamel plaques upon which the name - and possibly a short votive text - is written are incorporated into this. As well as the stylised floral ornamentation there are rectangular plaques on the frames showing the archangels of the Lord, worked in relief. All the figures are frontally posed and dressed in different attires, five on the left and five on the right. Of a total of ten plaques nine can be seen today, of which one is considerably damaged and others to a lesser extent. There were five medallions apiece on the upper and lower parts of the frame, of which only insignificant fragments remain, and those only on the upper part of the frame, while those on the lower part have been completely destroyed. The halo, which according to some old photographs was still on the icon only thirty or forty years ago, has also disappeared. To judge from the pictures, the halo was worked in a combined technique of repouss6 and enamel inlay. Describing the revdtement of this icon, N.P. Kondakov mentions the fact that on the upper part of the frame the central medallion depicted the Hetimas and on either side there were cherubim and seraphimsT. The depiction of the Hetimas and a multitude of angels and archangels on icon frames was a customary practice in icons from Constantinople and Georgia in this and later periods. This is born out by the famous Constantinopolitan icon of the Deisis with Saints from the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai dating from
the late eleventh century, as well as the revtements of the Georgian icons from Mastia, Igoumenia and Ghelat (Galata) in the region of Racha and Upper Svenetija, where archangels are assigned the role of guardians of mountain peaks.59
The revdtements of the "Holy Mother of God" icon also cover the frame and the lower part of the icon up to the height of the cushion on the throne on which the Mother of God sits. Compared with the revdtement of the previous icon, this one is much richer in the floral motifs used in its decoration. While the name on the revtement of the "Archangel Gabriel" is written on enamel plaques, that of the "Holy Mother of God" is in combined technique. A part of the inscription - 0 KVPIOC META COV - is worked in repouss6 on the lower part of the icon, while a second part, MHP ®V, is on plaques of blue and white enamel. The plaques with the votive text, where the name Leo is mentioned, are also in the same enamel.
The number and ordering of the rectangular plaques with reliefs of prophets and of the medallions on the upper and lower parts of the frame are exactly the same as those on the aforementioned icon. However, the original halo revdtement was lost or removed due to considerable damage and replaced by a new one made to fit the icon in the second half of the nineteenth century. Out of a total of ten plaques and medallions, only ten plaques can be seen today, of which four are badly damaged, and six medallions, half of which are damaged.
Analysis of the revdtements of these valuable icons provides much interesting information both about the style and technology in the work of the unknown master-goldsmiths and about the iconography, which most probably was customary for revdtements of this period.
The work was entrusted to a workshop of high reputation where at least two skilful and talented goldsmiths worked. It is our view that one of them worked on the revdtement of the lower part of the "Archangel Gabriel" and the floral ornaments incorporated between the rectangular plaques showing the archangels of the Lord and well-known prophets and apostles on both icons. The other worked on the floral ornaments of the revdtement of the lower part of the "Holy Mother of God" icon and on all the plaques and medallions with figures for both icons. The latter, most probably the master craftsman, was undoubtedly one of the most talented goldsmiths of his time. Taking into consideration the high level of workmanship as well as the thorough knowledge oficonography, the question arises of where these revdtements were worked. Can they be considered to have been products of local goldsmiths' workshops, or to have been commissioned and brought from some other centre of the arts and crafts?
In speaking of the icons in an inventory of the church of the Mother of God Eleousa in the village of Veljusa in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, we have pointed to the existence of richly decorated icons with gold and silver mounts which, according to the description of the monks who made the inventory, had skilfully-made figures in the medallions on the frames.......

From the book - "Icons of Macedonia" by Kosta Balabanov, photographs by Blagoja Drnkov

Home | Back | Buy this book about Macedonian Icons