Classical elements in the endowments of Serbian XIII century donors
Authors: Gligorijevic-Maksimovic Mirjana 
Published: October 2009

In Byzantine painting, starting from the XIII and particularly during the XIV century, there was a visible return to models from the period of Antiquity. The influences of ancient, ostensibly, Hellenistic heritage were reflected in the shapes, in the content of the compositions, as well as in the drawing, modellation and colours. In the art that came into being in the course of the XIII century, in the endowments of the Serbian donors numerous elements emerged that had existed in ancient art. In the frescoes in the Church of the Mother of God in Studenica, the endowment of Stefan Nemanja and his sons, we see personifications, symbols, the introduction of details, and space acquiring depth, features that were later to come to full expression, especially from the middle of the XIII century. The few preserved frescoes dating from the XIII century in the Church of the Resurrection in the Zica monastery, the endowment of Stefan the First Crowned, his son Radoslav and his brother Sava, are an iconographic continuation of the trends in the art one encounters in Studenica. The frescoes in the Church of Christ's Ascension in Mileseva, the endowment of King Vladislav, with their subtly fashioned figures and carefully modelled faces, as well as refined colouring, signal a return to the Hellenistic models. The painting in the Church of Dormition of the Virgin in the Moraca monastery, the endowment of Prince Stefan, nephew of king Stefan, with its well-proportioned, firmly modelled figures, landscapes and architecture deepening the space, reminds one of the Sopocani frescoes. In the fresco painting of the Holy Apostles in Pec, the endowment of Archbishop Sava which owed its outcome to the efforts of Archbishop Arsenije I, the images are very vivid, and the painted architecture is depicted in an abbreviated form, using different kinds of perspective. The painting in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Sopocani, the endowment of king Uros I, represents an ensemble of new artistic trends that appeared during the first half of the XIII century. Its spacious and monumental compositions present solutions that give the figures a quality of flexibility and breadth to their movements, while their faces resemble those of Antiquity. The space is indicated by architecture painted in an abbreviated manner, the iconostasis and icons are framed in an ornament of stucco bearing antique motifs, some scenes contain personifications, while the rich and harmonious colours and gold in the background emphasise the Hellenistic spirit. The frescoes in the Church of the Annunciation in the Gradac monastery, the endowment of Queen Jelena followed the trends in painting from Sopocani. The figures in the narthex of the Church of St. George in Djurdjevi Stupovi and in the parekklesion of the entrance tower, the endowment of King Dragutin, were painted in a rather similar fashion. The decoration of St. Ahilije in Arilje, the endowment of King Dragutin, consists of monumental figures of ancient beauty, richly painted architecture in the background, and greater depth painted in different forms of perspective and scenes containing details from everyday life. During the XIII century, the proportions of the compositions became larger, the number of participants in them increased, various episodes were added to the existing scenes, and the space was defined by a larger number of plans and buildings of ancient forms. At the same time, the painted architecture was presented in the perspective of different projections, deepening the space when necessary and highlighting the subject matter. The landscape is presented in the background, keeping to the rhythm of the scene or partitioning the episodes within the composition, while depicting vegetation and animals that resemble the mosaic flooring of ancient times. Special attention was paid to appearance and workmanship, to the modeling of the faces and human figures that acquired the proportions and harmony of Antiquity. Characters with lively movements were more numerous and were located more freely in the space. Compositions were more numerous, enriched with details from everyday life, while into the established scenes as regards Christian iconography were included personifications, symbolic and allegorical figures. The influences of Antiquity were also reflected in the precise drawing, plastic modeling and rich, refined colours. During the XIII century, the revival of models from Antiquity evolved gradually in the painting of the endowments belonging to the Serbian ktetors, most of whom were members of the Nemanjic ruling house. First of all, single elements appeared that were related to the proportions of the compositions and the images, personifications, symbolic presentations, the temperate voluminousity of the figures, refined colours all of which heralded further trends in painting. In addition, the painted architecture, of Hellenistic forms, gained an increasing role in the definition of space. The painting in Sopocani, with its monumental dimensions, its harmony of ancient proportions, precise drawing and modeling, wealth of colours and splendour of gold, reached an outstanding level in the Byzantine painting of that epoch. The decoration of the monuments that were built later, up to the end of the XIII century, mirrored the achievements of the Sopocani painting and continued to develop by including elements from the Antiquity. Thus, at the beginning of the XIV century, the emulation of models from the Antiquity came to full expression in the monumental endowments of King Milutin.