О разлозима појаве фреске Богородице Одигитрије на западној фасади цркве Преображења у Новгороду (XIV век) - прилог проучавању

Abstract

У лунети на западној фасади цркве Преображења Христовог у Великом Новгороду (сл. 1, 2) налази се представа попрсне Богородице Одигитрије (XIV век; сл. 3, 4). Њу је извео непознати уметник, по свој прилици недуго након осликавања наоса односно у време након подизања припрате, у којој се некада налазила. Фреска је временом веома оштећена. У раду се, поређењем са фреском Преображења и ликом Богородице „Пантон хара“ над улазом у цркву Преображења у Зрзу (1368/1369; сл. 5–7), разматрају разлози због којих је представа Богородице Одигитрије насликана над улазом у новгородску цркву. Установљено је да Богородичин лик, попут специфичне фреске Преображења у манастиру Зрзе, указује на тајну Христовог Оваплоћења, па је на тај начин, као и поменута фреска, усаглашена са посветом цркве на коју суптилно указује. У раду се разматрају и сличности новгородске фреске и фреске Богородице Одигитрије приказане на северној фасади цркве Светог николе у Зрзу, метоха Преображењске цркве у истом месту (сл. 8)

A niche of the west façade of the Transfiguration Church in Veliky Nodgorod (fig. 1, 2) preserves the mural of the Mother of God Hodegetria with Christ child, executed by the unknown artist, most probably after the nartex has been raised, between the years 1378 and 1390 (fig. 3, 4). The fresco has been badly damaged over time. The paper deals with the iconogaphy of the Hodegetria fresco and the reasons for its depiction on the west façade of the church above the entrance. In the paper, many similarities between the Transfiguration church in Veliky Novgodord and Transfiguration church of the Zrze monastery (fig. 7) have been noticed, most notable among them being their dedication to the Transfiguration feast, the time of the execution of frescoes (second half of the 14th century), and the presence of the frescoes in the niches above the church entrances. The Hodegetria fresco from the Transfiguration church in Veliky Novgorod is, thus, compared to the Transfiguration fresco in the niche of the west façade of the Transfiguration church in Zrze Monastery (1368/1369; fig. 5,6). The Transfiguration fresco over the entrance to the katholikon of the Zrze Monastery is original and unique in many ways. It consists of two parts that are connected into one symbolic whole through iconography: the scene itself (fig. 5) and the figures of the Mother of God with Christ child (fig. 6) surrounded by eight figures of prophets in the archivolte. In Serbian medieval art, the iconographic solution of the Transfiguration fresco at Zrze is unique as no other monument features the Transfiguration scene in such a way. The iconogaphy is the result of nuanced theological thoughts and the aspirations of the patrons of frescoes, the twо nobleman Pribil (later painter and metropolitan Jovan, second half of the 14th century) and Prijezda (later painter hieromonk Makarije, 14th century –after 1421/1422). The said Transfiguration fresco from the Zrze monastery is unque image linking the Transfiguration feast and the image of the Mother of God. Hence, the representations of the Mother of God in the archivolte above the Transfiguration fresco from Zrze and the Mother of God Hodegetria from Veliky Nogorod are analyzed in paper. It is concluded that the iconographic characteristics of the Mother of God from Zrze correspond to the type of the Mother of God Hodegetria and that certain iconographic features of the Hodegetria fresco from Novgorod correspond to the well-known Hodegetria icon of Constantinople. It is shown that historical and theological records relating to the prominent Constantinopolitan icon match with the symbolism of the Transfiguration fresco-icon from Zrze monastery, emphаsizing the fact that God born of Virgin Mary “took on flesh for our own sake”, that is the idea of Christ’s Incarnation. The paper concludes that both the figure of the Mother of God Hodegetria in Veliky Novgorod and the fresco of the Transfiguration in the Zrze monastery refer to the mystery of the Christ’s Incarnation. This mystery is strongly linked to the mystery of Transfiguration, as explained in the service of the Transfiguration feast. Apart from the significant analogy from the Zrze monastery, one another parallel is noticed – the fresco of the Mother of God Hodegetria from the Saint Nicholas church in Zrze monastery (fig. 8), and its main characteristics and similatiries with the fresco form Novgorod have been analysed in the paper.