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The followers of Theophane's and Rublev's
traditions did not simply copy the works of the two great masters, but tried to
introduce some novelties in their art. The independent course taken by some of
them may be considered an improvement. Some talented disciples enlarged their
palettes and their colors became more rich. They paid increased attention to
the picturesque side of the icon, sometimes at the expense of its purely
religious characters. They preferred to paint chivalrous saints who
distinguished themselves by brave acts, defending not only the faith and the
Church, but the people too. Saint George became particularly popular. The icons
they painted bear witness to an increasingly accomplished style, in some cases
quite individual and mature. But again, unfortunately, very few of the icons
were dated and none of them signed, making difficult to trace a pattern in
their development. Some of them are fine examples of superb art, that made the
15th century the golden age of Russian iconography. Certain students of Russian
art find reason in this artistic independence to presume that Russian
non-religious painting must have started at about the same time, and Novgorod
is given as its place of origin. However, there is much uncertainty in their
theory, and a decline in religious fervor of the grand dukes or of the people
at that time can hardly be seen. The man who best exemplified the new trend and
who gave his icons and frescoes a delicate, festive and joyful look was the
painter Dionisii. This is his Christian name, and the only personal detail that
we know with certainty.
The first churches in the Saint Ferapontov's Monastery were wooden as were most
other monasteries. In 1488, fire destroyed the relatively new wooden Church of
the Nativity of the Virgin erected in 1466 and many other buildings.
Fortunately, at just about that time the Archbishop of Rostov Ioasaf was exiled
there. He quarreled with Ivan III and, though a member of the princely family
Obolensky, he had to go back to the place where he had embraced monasticism as
a young man. Ioasaf gave the money for a new brick Church of the Nativity of
the Virgin to be erected around 1490. It is a square and a rather small church
with four pillars and a single cupola. The fact that it was built on a high
basement gave the church an elongated silhouette. The Church was built in the
late Novgorod style, most probably by Rostov builders. The inscription on the
northern wall indicates that the Church was decorated with frescoes by the
"Icon-painter Dionisii and his sons" in 1500-1502. Most of Russian
art historians tend to believe that Ioasaf, through his connections with the
high clergy, must have heard that Dionisii was one of the best iconographers
and invited him to paint the frescoes in his newly built church. As is the case
with Rublev and most other icon painters, the birth and life history of
Dionisii remain unknown. The Chronicle mentions his name for the first time
around 1470, when Dionisii and another painter, Mitrofan, were invited by the
Rostov Archbishop Vassian to decorate a church in his eparchy. Since Mitrofan's
name is listed first, art students presume that Dionisii learned from him how
to paint icons and frescoes. 1440 is most often given as the year of his birth,
and with uncertainty, 1508 is used as the year of his death, because that year
he did not take part in the decoration of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in
the Moscow Kremlin, in which his son Feodosii (Theodosius) participated. The
Chronicle for 1482 records that Ivan III invited "Icon painters Dionisii,
priest Timofey (Timothy), Yarets and Konia" to paint the icons for the
iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Assumption that Fioravanti had finished a
few years before. Two years later we see Dionisii, his sons Feodosii and
Vladimir, and the icon painter Paisii the Elder, painting the icons for the
Isosifo-Volokolamskii Monastery founded in 1479 by Iosif Volotskii. The 1545
description of the Monastery says that they painted over a hundred icons there,
but hardly any have survived until the present times. In view of their high
reputation as good painters, it would be normal to assume that they painted
many more elsewhere. Of course, many icons have perished since and, in the
absence of precise information; those presumed to be by Dionisii are thought to
be so primarily because some details resemble much that of his frescoes in the
Monastery of Saint Ferapontov. To properly evaluate Dionisii's talent and
importance in the Russian art, we must go back to this frescoes in the
Monastery of Saint Ferapontov. They rate, undoubtedly, among the best that
Russian iconography had produced and they are the culmination of his artistic
creativity. They are also authentic and well preserved.
Dionisii and his sons covered the entire interior of the Church of the Nativity
with frescoes, including the vaults, the pillars and the outside western wall
around the main portal. Inside, the frescoes were painted in three tiers;
several of them depict scenes from the life of the Virgin. Even before we enter
the church we are greeted with a beautiful composition of the Nativity of the
Virgin above the portal, and archangels on its sides recording all those that
enter and leave the Church." Dionisii balanced his frescoes masterfully
with the architectural lines of the Church and achieved an almost perfect
harmony of proportions found only in the works of great masters. Though he
dealt with a variety of themes, his frescoes appear to be a series of narrative
compositions that flow one after the other. Stories depicting the Virgin's life
or Christ's miracles abound, and are presented so vividly that hardly anybody
leaves without realizing their moral admonition. To obtain visionary effects
and underline the gracefulness of the personages, Dionisii elongated their
figures, arms and faces, similarly to what El Greco's style a century later.
But, more than anything else, it is the richness of Dionisii's palette,
particularly visible on the garments, that produces the happy and festive
feeling in the Church. His transparent and delicate greens, yellows, roses,
turquoises, predominantly on pale blue background, rank him with Rublev.
Obviously, Dionisii was not affected at all by the teaching of his
contemporaries "Nestyazhateli" who, not far from the Monastery of
Saint Ferapontov, denied beauty its necessary role in religious life. Hardly
anyone could believe Dionisii found the whole range of his rich colors just
around the Church, mostly on the lake and river shores, which abound in soft,
naturally-colored pebbles. All he had to do was to grind them and mix them with
egg-yolk, adding "Kvas" - the traditional Russian drink made of twice
baked and then fermented rye bread - to achieve the desired thickness.. By
applying several thin coats of different shades Dionisii obtained the desired
transparency and gave his frescoes the softness and delicacy that became so
characteristic of this painting. Illustration of the icon "In thee
Rejoiceth".
During their long lives, all the buildings in the Monastery of Saint Ferapontov
underwent several restorations and changes. The Church of the Nativity, among
other changes, received in the 18th century a larger drum to carry the new
baroque cupola, and in the 19th century acquired the present four-sloped roof.
No information has come to light to prove that its frescoes were restored or
repainted. Here is an illustration of the icon of the Virgin at the Ferapontov monastery.
In the 19th century the Monastery was dismembered and the Church of the
Nativity of the Virgin turned into a parochial church for the nearby villages.
In the very beginning of the 20th century, the Monastery was reestablished as a
cloister. Together with the general cleaning done by the nuns, a thorough
restoration was conducted from 1908-1915 by two qualified archaeologists, P.P.
Pokrishkin and K.K. Romanov. In 1911 V.T. Gheorgievskii published a book
entitled "Frescoes of Ferapontov Monastery," Illustrated with many
photos. The book caused considerable interest and even surprise among the
public, that such a great work should have remained unnoticed, but this did not
last long. The revolution closed the cloister, its churches were pillaged and
then abandoned for decades. Only since the nineteen-sixties has the Soviet
government shown an increased interest in ancient art and architecture, but
with the exception of the Kremlin and other selected places, which are
permitted to be visited by foreign tourists and when important and careful
restoration had been done, most of the ancient art works received just enough
care to prevent total destruction. Unfortunately the Monastery of Saint
Ferapontov belongs to the second group, and its churches remain quite
dilapidated, with many cracks in the walls, rotten cupolas and, what is most
frightening, the total inside emptiness that is characteristic of most of the
churches that are "Protected by the government."
Please see the painting of Metropolitan Aleksei with
scenes from his life. Here is a fragment of a fresco of Nikola Ugolnik done for
the Ferapontov Monastery 1500-1502
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