Academic literature on the topic 'Mural painting and decoration – 21st century'

The article deals with a non-canonical art practice in modern Chinese fine art, mural painting of public spaces. The actualization of the above-mentioned problem is caused by the appearance of changes and supplements to the morphological system of Chinese fine art: Chinese state has opened up to the world, dynamic urbanization has begun, the attitude of the society to public spaces and the tasks of mural painting in their visualization have changed. The purpose of the article is to understand the place of modern wall painting in the non-canonical structure of fine art in China at the beginning of the 21st century. The research methodology is based on the methods of both general theoretical analysis and formal-stylistic and compositional-coloristic analysis of works of art. The author analyzes publications in which the state of Chinese and foreign scientific discourse on the specified problem is investigated. Based on the examples of the analysis of the wall painting of Shanghai, Nanjing, Mianyang, and various Chinese villages, the main stylistic, compositional and coloristic means of artistic expressiveness of the murals of the 2020s are determined, and the functional features of modern wall painting as a non-canonical art practice of the latest Chinese fine art are revealed. It has been proven that at the beginning of the 21st century a non-canonical structure of fine art, dialogic in its communicative nature, began to form in the country, which is a part of general processes in the field of modern art. It is stated that today Chinese muralism is in the initial stage of its formation. The study of stylistic, compositional and coloristic means of artistic expressiveness of works of modern wall painting, which appeared at the beginning of the 21st century in China, allows us to assert that the main artistic style of modern wall painting remains realism and its varieties, hyperrealism and photorealism, focused on fairly traditional compositional solutions, but a bright color range. Considering the lack of systematic morphological studies of the fine art of modern China, we believe it necessary to continue analyzing the latest art practices, which today make up the non-canonical structure of the country’s fine art.

Owing to old photographic plates that recorded those segments of the mural decoration of Davidovica on the Lim which were later destroyed or considerably damaged, it is possible to put forward a more complete reconstruction of its thematic program. The programmatic and iconographic features of both the destroyed frescoes and the surviving ones correspond to the solutions that can be found in Post-Byzantine painting. The palaeographic analysis of inscriptions and the analysis of the style of the murals in the dome, the area under the dome and both chapels in Davidovica clearly indicate that we are dealing with paintings done in the second half of the sixteenth century.

The purpose of the article is to analyze compositional types, topography, methods, and techniques used in the formal solution of mural compositions in the Catholic churches of Eastern Galicia in the second half of the XVIII century. The methodology lies in the usage of art historical methods of stylistic analysis and generally scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. The scientific novelty of the research is in the analysis of methods and techniques used by Galician masters in the second half of XVII century for implementation of mural compositions that were interpreted, adapted to local artistic traditions. The research can be used in the attribution of saved samples of the monumental art. Conclusions. The monumental painting in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in particular in Galicia, developed in the context of artistic trends in West and Central European countries. Chronologically, the development of monumental painting in Galicia ranged from the thirties until the late XVIII century. As for the formal characteristics of monumental art, in the territory of the Commonwealth, the most common were three compositional types of polychrome: local variation of Italian «quadro riportato», illusionistic and panoramic. The basis of the first is the method of placing of the image on the vault area, framed with imitated or sculpted frame, the second is based on the quadrature and other methods and techniques of illusionistic monumental art, the third includes a panoramic image on the vault. In Galicia, the third type of vault decoration has not become widespread. Visiting masters were the bearers of these trends. They implemented the polychrome in local cathedrals, using a wide variety of methods and techniques for the formal solutions of mural compositions, typical for European art schools. Later, local artists adopted this experience, creating polychromes with certain interpretations of compositional types.

Currently in Russia the development of church architecture poses many problems associated with the revival of the national school of monumental religious painting. The article analyzes the main features of the development of monumental decoration of church buildings. It also emphasizes importance of an integrated approach to the solution of the architectural and artistic ensemble of the cult construction. The synthesis of national religious architecture and monumental church painting is the object of research and its features аt the present stage is the subject. The goal of the article is the identification of the main tendencies of integrated approach to the religious architecture, both for Russia and the Republic of Mordovia. The empirical material of the work is the religious architecture and monumental church painting of Russia and the Republic of Mordovia. The research is based on observation, descriptive and comparative methods of analysis. The article is based on the published research on the church art of Russia and the Republic of Mordovia. The turn of the 21st century represents the active practice of creating a modern church decor. This is characterized by a complex multistage process of collective creativity, characterized by specific architectural environment of the building, development of the design of the decor and the means of monumental painting. The turn of the 21st century represents a new step in the development of religious architecture and monumental painting in Russia. It makes a conclusion that at the turn of the century the use of the artistic experience of the past is the leading tendency in the development of modern monumental church painting. The necessity of achieving the synthesis of the architectural building and its monumental and decorative solution is empasized.

Ancient ceramic wall tiles, called “azulejo”, firstly used on Portuguese churches, monasteries and palaces (15-18th century) have progressively been used in particular houses till the last century. These tiles and its use in huge decorative panels can be considered as a precious but fragile cultural heritage from Brazil to India, in several countries influenced by Portuguese culture. Morphologically, these tiles are composed by a porous clay-based ceramic body, the terracotta, covered by a protective glassy phase, the glaze. As artistic paintings, these murals incorporated various kinds of pigments in the glaze layer to create a pictorial impact on the walls of rich palaces or churches, real and durable monumental works-of-art. In the 21st century, degradation marks are visible on these ceramic tiles because of their use under corrosive conditions (moisture, atmospheric cycles…) along centuries. In order to promote their conservation and enhance their restoration, the physical-chemical characterization of the azulejos is performed in the present work, using mainly non-destructive processes like micro-Raman spectroscopy or X-Ray diffraction. In particular, Raman spectroscopy allows the detection of some nano/microcrystals present in the amorphous glaze due to pigments or opacifying agents or related to the elaboration process of the azulejo. Based on the observation of various selected fragments, one states that very few pigments have been used as colouring agents in this ceramic art during 17-18th centuries. Thus, the relationship between the different colours, the introduced pigments and the structural aspects of the glass will be focused. Some features related with the ancient ceramic technology will also be discussed.

Статья посвящена истории бытования мезенской росписи - зооморфного орнамента, использовавшегося с начала XIX в. мастерами д. Палащелье Архангельской губ. для декорирования деревянных изделий, и в первую очередь прялок. В центре внимания находится судьба мезенской лошадки - главного символа палащельской росписи, ставшего в XXI в. основой локального бренда в г. Мезени и его окрестностях. В работе рассматривается история палащельского промысла, включая трансформацию его социального, экономического и культурного значений на протяжении XX-XXI вв. Прялка - главный носитель мезенской росписи - перестала выполнять свою утилитарную роль, став объектом семейной памяти и культурной ценностью, связанной с локальной идентичностью местных жителей и художественным значением, определяемым экспертами-профессионалами. Вследствие этих перемен, а также миграций населения из деревень в города прялки с мезенской росписью стали ассоциироваться с покинутой малой родиной и деревенским миром в целом, вызывая к жизни особую форму чувствительности, требующей специальных навыков понимания, толкования и любви к мезенской росписи. Как показано в работе, два режима восприятия мезенской лошадки - семейной памяти и эстетической ценности - тесно взаимосвязаны, определяя эмоциональную привязанность и популярность этого элемента традиционной росписи среди современных жителей г. Мезени и Мезенского района. This article concerns the history of the Mezen horse, a zoormorphic ornament from the village Palashchelye in the Mezen Region of Arkhangelsk Province. From the beginning of the 19th century it has been used by craftsmen to decorate wooden items, especially spinning wheels. In the beginning of the present century the Mezen horse became the symbol of Palashchelye painting and the main local brand for the city of Mezen and its environs. The article examines the history of Palashchel crafts and discusses the transformation of its social, economic and cultural significance during the 20th and 21st centuries. The spinning wheel, the main bearer of Mezen decoration, has ceased to fulfill a utilitarian role, becoming instead a focus of family memories and cultural value, interpreted both in terms of local identity and artistic significance. As a result of this change, as well as the migration of the population from villages to cities, spinning wheels with Mezen painting began to be associated with one’s abandoned birthplace and the rural world in general. This has given rise to a special kind of sensitivity that entails special skills of interpretation as well as love. Two different modes of such sensibility are discussed in the article - the mode of family memory and the mode of esthetic value - that are interwoven, endowing the Mezen horse with emotional meaning and broad popularity among the modern urban inhabitants of Mezen and its environs.

Saint Sampson, whose feast is celebrated on June 27, was depicted among holy physicians. However, his images were not frequent. He was usually accompanied with Saint Mokios (in Saint Sophia in Kiev, the Transfiguration church in the Mirozh monastery and the church of the Presentation of the Holy Virgin in the Temple in the monastery of Saint Euphrosyne; possibly also in Saint Panteleimon in Nerezi and Saint Demetrios in the village of Aiani near Kozani; furthermore, in the church of Saint Nicholas in Manastir and, afterwards, in the katholikon of the Vatopedi monastery). In a later period, he was usually shown in the vicinity of Saint Diomedes (in the churches of Saint Achillius in Arilje, Saint George in the village Vathiako on Crete, Saint Nicholas Orphanos in Thessaloniki, the Annunciation in Gracanica, the narthexes of the Hilandar katholikon and the church of the Holy Virgin in the monastery of Brontocheion at Mistra, the katholicon of the Pantokrator monastery and the church of Saint Demetrios in Markov Manastir). There are no substantial data regarding the identity of the saints depicted next to him in the metropolitan Church of Saint Demetrios at Mistra, while in a number of cases the image of the saint shown next to him has not been preserved (e.g. Saint Irene in the village of Agios Mamas on Crete, Gregory?s Gallery in the church of Saint Sophia in Ohrid and the church of the Holy Virgin (Panagia Kera) near the village Chromonastiri on Crete). On the other hand, in the church of the Holy Virgin in Mateic, Saint Sampson is, exceptionally, depicted among bishops, while in the church of the Holy Archangels in Prilep and the chapel of the Holy Anargyroi in Vatopedi, he is, as usual, surrounded by holy physicians but his mates are not featured - neither Saint Mokios, not Saint Diomedes. The earliest known commemorative text dedicated to him is the extensive hagiography - Vita Sampsonis I, composed in the seventh or the early eighth century. Other hagiographies, which mostly date from the tenth century, are completely based on the earlier writing. Such a composition can be found in the Synaxarion of the Church of Constantinople. In the extensive text (Vita Sampsonis II), Symeon Metaphrastes added a part that included detailed descriptions of a number of posthumous miracles, mostly healings; all these events are also mentioned in the short Hagiography. Finally, in the late thirteenth century, Constantine Akropolites wrote the still unpublished Hagiography (Vita Sampsonis III), in which he presented an account of events from the later history of the Saint?s hospital. The hagiographies inform us that Sampson was a Roman by birth and a kin of Emperor Constantine. He inherited a fortune, which he distributed to the poor. Then, he departed for Constantinople, where he found a modest home. Patriarch Menas ordained him a priest. Relying on the medical knowledge, Sampson was saving the sick and he even cured Emperor Justinian from an incurable disease. For that reason, the Emperor found a large house, in which he established and fully equipped a xenon (hospital, ?????), whereas Sampson was appointed as the skeuophylax of the Great Church. The Blessed continued to work there until his death. His venerable leipsana, which rested in the church of Saint Mokios, constantly issued the cures. His feast was celebrated in the hospital founded by him. Long time had passed between the period in which the Saint had lived and the epoch in which his earliest hagiography was compiled. During that time, some events could have fallen into oblivion and accounts of other events could have been invented. Accordingly, the results of the researchers of Saint Sampson?s xenon?s history are valuable. The hospital was housed in Sampson?s home, where he provided not only health care, but also food and bed. It was presumably founded in the fourth century. The xenon was burned in the Nika riots in 532 and Emperor Justinian had it renovated and expanded. Based on some documents issued in the Empire of Nicaea, it may be concluded that the xenon had vast estates. The Crusaders first sacked it, to subsequently use it for their own needs, as they established the Order of Saint Sampson. The hospital soon received many properties in Constantinople and its environs, Hungary and Flanders. It seems that after the liberation of Constantinople, the activities of Saint Sampson?s hospital were ceased and that there was a monastery at its place in the Palaiologan period. Anyway, the reputation of its holy founder persisted throughout the thirteenth century. Constantine Akropolites wrote the already mentioned Hagiography, and in one of his letters he spoke of the Saint, who was also mentioned in a poem by Manuel Philes (died around 1345). In Constantinople, the veneration of Saint Sampson had two centres - the hospital named after him and the church of Saint Mokios, where his leipsana rested. According to the synaxaria of the Typikon of the Great Church and the Church of Constantinople, the feast dedicated to the Saint was celebrated at his xenon. The former text informs us that the service was held by the Patriarch, whereas Symeon Metaphrastes relates that the vigil on the eve of the feast took place over the relics in the church of Saint Mokios. The Patriarch celebrated the feast dedicated to Saint Sampson with hospital clergy in the church within the xenon, both mentioned by Metaphrastes. It was either this church or a shrine from a later period that housed the iconostasis noted down by Constantine Stilbes, an eyewitness of the Latin capture of the Byzantine capital. Written sources and archaeological finds are consistent in that the hospital was located between the churches of Saint Sophia and Saint Irene. However, the first excavations carried out at the site of the xenon were not properly documented, whereas archaeologists involved in further investigations could not rely on reliable data, though they carefully examined all finds. The question arises why Saint Sampson was at first usually depicted in the company of Saint Mokios, a presbyter who died a martyr?s death in Constantinople (May 11), and later, together with Saint Diomedes, the physician who died in Nicaea (August 16). Therefore, this paper briefly presents the hagiographies of the two saints and the churches in the Byzantine capital where their relics rested - the monastery of Saint Mokios, which did not exist in the mid-fourteenth century, and Saint Diomedes, which was counting its last days in the fourteenth century, reduced to a small monastery. Dobrynja Jadrejkovic (subsequently Antony, archbishop of Novgorod) noted down around 1200 that the saint?s stick, epitrachelion and robes were kept at the hospital of Saint Sampson, whereas in the church of Saint Mokios, under the altar, rested Saint Mokios and Saint Sampson. He also mentioned that water flew from the latter?s grave, as well as that the church of Saint Diomedes was near the Golden Gate and that the relics of Saint Diomedes rested there. However, the Russian pilgrims who visited Constantinople during the Palaiologan period mentioned neither Saint Sampson?s hospital, not the church of Saint Mokios, whereas the church of Saint Diomedes, but not his relics, was noted down only by an unknown traveller who described the pilgrimage undertaken between the late 1389 and the early 1391. The answer to the question of what happened to the leipsana that once laid in these churches is not possible to provide. The fate of the relics of Saint Sampson, previously kept in his xenon, is not known, nor is it known where the commemorations of the three saints were held in the capital during the Palaiologan period. Anyway, the depictions of Saint Sampson accompanied by Saint Diomedes - whose oldest examples are preserved in Arilje - indicate that the connection of these two priest-physicians had already begun by the time when the church was painted (1295/1296), but, judging by the available sources, the only evidence on the process is given by the paintings. Although Saint Sampson founded the hospital which was probably the oldest in Constantinople, and though his leipsana, kept in the church of Saint Mokios, had healing powers, while his relics in the xenon were visited by pilgrims, it seems that the respect for this saint in the Byzantine capital was not reflected in the frequency of his images among holy physicians: he was fairly rarely shown among them. As a matter of fact, the earliest representations of Saint Sampson originated from Constantinople. They can be found on lead seals made for the hospital in the second half of the sixth and during the seventh century. On the other hand, there is no any known preserved depiction of this saint in the mural decoration of the early churches. Accordingly, it may be assumed that the veneration of Saint Sampson was initially limited to Constantinople, and that it was only later, since the time when his short hagiography was included in the synaxarium and his extensive hagiography was written for the Metaphrastes?s comprehensive work, that it was adopted in other areas of the East Christian world. It may seem paradoxical that the preserved images of the Saint dating from the period when his xenon flourished are less numerous than those from the time when the hospital, in all probability, did not exist. It seems that after the liberation of Constantinople from Latin rule, Saint Sampson was earnestly honoured and that the believers frequented the monastery at the site of the old xenon, though the hospital did not exist anymore. The former assumption is corroborated by the writings of Constantine Akropolites and Manuel Philes, whereas the latter is supported by the coins from the Palaiologan period found in the sacral building within the complex that once belonged to Saint Sampson?s hospital. Although his miraculous leipsana rested in the church of Saint Mokios, the posthumous miracles of Saint Sampson, described in later hagiographies, mostly took place in his xenon, which housed the relics that were visited by pilgrims and where commemorative services dedicated to him were held. The veneration of the Saint was long fostered within the institution founded by him - the ancient hospital where trained doctors worked - i.e. it was nurtured between the reputation of medical skills based on secular knowledge and miraculous healings.

The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific circulation, to attribute modern compositions of the academic mural painting in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, to study their genesis. The research methodology consists in the complex application of historical and cultural analysis, art study, diachronic ones, as well as empirical observation. The scientific novelty of the study. The materials of the survey and proposals for restoration (1998) the compositions of academic mural painting in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the late 19th – early 20th centuries have been introduced into scientific circulation. The academic mural painting in the Dormition Cathedral, the 21st century, has been introduced into scientific circulation. Its attribution has been performed. The names of the artists have been introduced into scientific circulation and it has been detailed who among them is the author of the project, who painted the holy images and who painted the ornaments. The dating of the compositions in different compartments of the Cathedral and the technique of their performance have been determined. The main thematic and plot lines have been revealed. The thematic, plot, iconographic, decorative, coloristic connections of the modern academic mural painting with the murals of the late 19th – early 20th centuries and with visual records have been studied. The similarities and differences of the academic compositions of 1897–1901 and 2018–2022 have been analysed. The principle of forming the colouring of modern academic murals has been revealed. Conclusions. In the modern decoration of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Academicism painting (1897–1901) is presented in the apse of the southern nave (diaconicon). In this compartment, authentic fragments of academic compositions have been restored, the painting system has been revived based on archival photos, and some new academic compositions have been introduced to it. Mural paintings have been performed by artists under the supervision of Oleksandr Pashkovskyi in 2018–2019. They also performed new murals in the academic tradition in the altar part of side-altar of the Saint Apostle Andrew the First Called in the southern part of choirs in 2020–2021. In the northern part of the choirs, paintings have been started and then suspended in 2022. In the new murals complex the artists cite in extenso or in part the compositions of the late 19th – early 20th centuries using archival photos. The murals have been performed in mixed techniques: holy images in oil, ornaments in acrylic paints. The composition ‘Glorification of Theotokos’ differs in the techniques; it is painted with oil on canvas. In the modern interpretation, the cited compositions can keep or change the primary location. The colouring of the new murals is formed on the basis of fragments of authentic compositions. A considerable part of the decoration is occupied by stylised ornaments as well as in murals of 1897–1901. The new and primary mural painting combine same academic principles of visual language, iconographic and colour principles, thematic and plot lines. Same general thematic lines are such as Theotokos theme, the theme of the Last Judgment, the Christianization of Ancient Rus, images of the saints of Ancient Rus and saints associated with the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Keywords: sacral culture, Orthodoxy, academic painting, mural painting, sacral painting, Ukrainian painting, Dormition Cathedral.

The purpose of the article is to study the factor of traditionalism in the development of the complex of murals of the Great Church (the Dormition Cathedral) in the 18th – 21st centuries. The research methodology is based on historical, cultural and art historical analysis. Scientific novelty of the study. Traditionalism is defined as a factor in the development of mural painting of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Great Church (the Dormition Cathedral) in the 1720s–2020s. The author reveals that traditionality was implemented in the principle of continuity in the formation of new murals. The imitation of a number of thematic and narrative lines of the seventeenth-century murals in the decorations of the 1720s, as well as the murals of the 1720s and 1770s in the compositions of 1811 and the decorations of the late nineteenth century is studied. The author proves that the main visual source of the reconstruction of the twenty-first century painting was not the painting of the 1720s but of 1840-1843 and some compositions of the 1770s and 1811. The change in the location of traditional subjects is identified as one of the means of innovation in the programmes of new paintings. The continuity of a wide range of compositions, including the themes of the Baptism of Rus and the Pechersk Monastery, is traced. Conclusions. Traditionalism had a significant impact on the development of the monumental painting of the Great Assumption Church in the 18th-21st century. The programmes of the new paintings of the 1720s and especially of 1894 show the imitation of thematic and narrative lines from the previous paintings. During the renovation of the entire church interior (1772–1777, 1840–1843) and exterior (1809), as well as the renovation of certain compositions (for example, in 1811), he imitation of paintings was almost unchanged (this was a requirement of the Kyiv metropolitans). According to the principle of continuity in the XXI century, artists created a baroque image of the Great Church, using archival sources of paintings from 1840-1843, 1811, and 1772-1777. The continuity provided a historical connection between the murals of different centuries in the Dormition Cathedral. Key words: sacral culture, Orthodoxy, sacred monumental painting, Ukrainian painting, Kyiv‑Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral.

The purpose of the article is to discover the mural paintings of the Great Pechersk Church as the version of theology and academic sacred mural painting of the late 19th century. The research methodology is based on complex using historical and cultural analysis, art study analysis, and biographical method. Scientific novelty. It is determined that the process of creating the Old Russian image in the Great Pechersk Church (the Dormition Cathedral) began in 1880. The photo of the drawing of the ancient part of the Church made by the order of A. Prakhov in 1893, has been introduced into scientific circulation. The author studied the painting decoration as a synthesis of the academic theological thought and academic sacred mural painting, discovered its implementation in choosing topics, plots, and placement of compositions. The author gave a characteristic of the source corps on the paintings from the collection of the National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”. The author researched the transformation of painting preliminary design and Byzantine Canon of the 11–12th centuries on behalf of the Holy Mother of God theme and observed the connection of the composition “Ascension of Panagia” on the tradition of monastic life in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The topical and plotlines have been improved namely Christianize Old Russian is determined by one more leading topic. Conclusions. The process of creating a new mural painting in the Great Pechersk Church began still yet 1880. The detection of the ancient part of the Church contributed to the change in its painting decoration. This change was the result of the academic theological program implemented by means of academic sacred mural painting. The tradition of previous painting decoration preserved in the preliminary design end reflected one of the traditions of monastic life in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The witness in Pechersk Paterikon of the compositions in the Great Church has been implemented in mural paintings. However, the academic theological opinion of the late 19th century was subordinated to the canon of 11–12th centuries not complete. The theme of the introduction of Christianity was presented in mural painting as one of the leading topics.

The murals created by Jean Cocteau, for the walls of the Lady Chapel in London’s Notre-Dame de France (1959-60), are the only works of their kind outside of France. The visual art of Cocteau – better known for his poetic and filmic achievements – has suffered long-standing scholarly neglect. This dissertation seeks to redress this gap and to further our understanding of this renowned twentieth-century French multi-media artist. This study of Cocteau’s London murals demonstrates that they are informed by earlier artistic tradition, with which he was deeply engaged, as well as his own poetic and filmic œuvre; crucially also, by his own experience as a gay male in the mid twentieth-century. Despite the original and idiosyncratic beauty of this cycle, the paintings are amongst Cocteau’s least known. It is distinguished from the artist’s other religious projects; not only the smallest, but the London commission was the only one undertaken in his lifetime overseen and controlled by ecclesiastical authorities. Cocteau depicts three significant moments from the life of the Virgin: the Annunciation, Crucifixion, and Assumption. Cocteau’s murals are dissimilar to any other sacred art of the period, notably that of post-war Art sacré. What is revealed is Cocteau’s innovative method of re-imagining these canonical subjects, which he does in a manner that is both surprising and yet highly respectful of the Marist Order. A detailed case study, this thesis traces the progress of the commission, reconstructs Cocteau’s creative process as revealed in extant sketches, journals and other archival materials, and analyses the artist’s distinctive renditions of canonical religious subjects. In chapter 1, the historical context, the church itself and the commissioning order is examined. Cocteau’s original envisaged scheme is reconstructed and analysed in chapter 2. Chapters 3 to 8 examine in detail each of the three murals as they appear today.

L’auteur inventorie les sources iconographiques de la plupart des quelque 250 peintures de l’église Sainte-Bethléem et de la cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de la cité arménienne de la Nouvelle-Djoulfa, dans les faubourgs d’Ispahan. Elle établit que ces sources, contrairement à la thèse qui faisait autorité depuis plus de cinquante ans, ne sont pas des xylographies du graveur Christoffel Van Sichem, mais des estampes de la Bible de Natalis, ouvrage jésuite publié pour la première fois à Anvers en 1593.

L’auteur démontre qu’il existe également une autre source, à savoir l’album Thesaurus veteris et novi Testamenti de l’éditeur anversois de confession calviniste G. de Jode, dont la première publication date de 1579 et dont les planches furent reprises, entre autres, dans l’album Theatrum Biblicum publié à Amsterdam à partir de 1639 par l’éditeur C. J. Visscher. Une comparaison avec des miniatures de l’école de la Nouvelle-Djoulfa conservés au Matenadaran et à la BNF permet de confirmer que ces deux albums sont parvenus dans la cité arménienne. Enfin, la thèse recense plusieurs estampes isolées qui ont aussi servi de modèle aux peintures murales.

Par une étude stylistique comparée mettant en évidence la transformation caractéristique de certains modèles utilisés, l’auteur établit que les peintres impliqués dans la décoration de l’église Sainte-Bethléem et de la cathédrale Saint-Sauveur sont des artistes de la cité, dont l’un au moins a une connaissance approfondie des techniques et des conventions de l’art pictural occidental. Dans le même temps, elle fait ressortir le fait que l’influence de la gravure flamande sur l’art pictural arménien se traduit à la fois par un renouvellement des formes et par une évolution de certains contenus et signale que le rayonnement de la Nouvelle-Djoulfa en prolonge les effets tant en Arménie que dans d’autres communautés de la diaspora arménienne.

Enfin, en fournissant plusieurs exemples inédits témoignant de l’influence internationale de l’art flamand de cette époque – et tout particulièrement des œuvres de Maarten De Vos – par le truchement de la gravure, l’auteur ouvre des pistes de recherche tant en Perse que dans d’autres zones géographiques.
Doctorat en philosophie et lettres, Orientation histoire de l'art et archéologie
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Né en 1727 à Briançon, Jean-Antoine Morand a 14 ans lorsqu’il se lance, suite à la mort de son père, dans une carrière artistique. C’est à Lyon qu’il s’installe et fonde, en 1748, un atelier de peinture. Il reçoit des commandes officielles et privées, travaille régulièrement pour la Comédie, se spécialise dans la peinture en trompe-l’œil et la scénographie, y compris les machines de théâtre. À la fin des années 1750, encouragé par Soufflot, il se tourne vers l’architecture et l’embellissement, ainsi que l’y disposent différents aspects de sa première carrière.Architecte autodidacte, Morand souffre d’un déficit de légitimité et tente d’y remédier en recherchant la reconnaissance publique. Mais ses succès, en particulier la construction à titre privé d’un pont sur le Rhône, n’y suffisent pas. La carrière de Morand est tiraillée entre fierté entrepreneuriale et appétence institutionnelle. Son image pâtit de l’opposition entre spéculation foncière et promotion du bien public. Cela concerne en particulier son grand œuvre, un projet d’agrandissement de Lyon sur la rive gauche du Rhône, compris dans un plan général donnant à la ville la forme circulaire.Morand a peu construit et il ne subsiste presque rien de son œuvre pictural. On dispose en revanche d’un fonds d’archives privé d’une grande richesse, sur lequel s’appuie cette thèse, afin de mettre au jour les intentions, les relations et la psychologie d’un architecte autrement méconnu
Born in 1727, Jean-Antoine Morand is 14 years old when he embraces an artistic career, following his father’s death. Having settled down in Lyon, he establishes his own painter’s workshop in 1748. Receiving public and private commissions and working for the theatre on a regular basis, he specializes in trompe l’œil painting and stage-setting, including machinery. In the late 1750s, spurred on by Soufflot, he turns to architecture and city-planning, as various aspects of his previous career could have prompted him to.As an autodidactic architect, Morand suffers from a lack of legitimacy against which he pursues public recognition. But his successes, which include the building of a privately-owned bridge across the Rhône, aren’t enough. Morand’s career is torn between entrepreneurial pride and his longing for tenure. His public image is marred by the alleged opposition between land speculation and the defense of public good. This concerns mostly his great work, a project for the extension of Lyon on the left bank of the Rhône, included in a circular general city plan.Morand hasn’t built much and very little remains of his pictorial work. This thesis is based on an extensive private archive that allows us to explore this otherwise unsung architect’s intentions, relations and psychology

Due to the influence of the Greek-speaking immigrants who flocked into the city of Rome over the course of the 7th and 8th centuries, there was an explosion of interest in the cults of saints and their relics, one manifestation of which was the efflorescence in the depiction of saints' lives on the church walls. Five of these cycles survive--albeit in various stages of preservation--and portray the martyrdoms of Quiricus and Julitta, Erasmus, the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, Callixtus, and Paul and Anastasius. As the largest surviving body of early hagiographical cycles, the paintings serve as the standard of comparison for later works, but they have yet to be fully studied in the art historical literature. The aim of this dissertation is to help correct this oversight, and to examine the cycles, in the context of their cultural and architectural settings, in order to come to an understanding of how early hagiographical cycles functioned. The dissertation begins with an examination of the evidence for pre-8th century cycles, Biblical and non-Biblical, extant and non-extant, produced in any medium in Byzantium or the West. The aim is to discover patterns, either in the make-up of the cycles, or the contexts for their use. The paintings in Rome are then carefully analysed, both in terms of their content and archaeological context, in combination with the surviving hagiographical, liturgical, and historical texts. The conclusion reached is that non-Biblical hagiographical cycles first gained popularity in the East, where they were most commonly found decorating either the tombs of saints, or their reliquary shrines. Their appearance in Rome can be closely linked to the influence of the Greek-speaking immigrants, to the cults of saints and relics that they promulgated, and to the special veneration accorded the non-Biblical saint by members of the lay population. The cycles most commonly decorate chapels, or chapel-like spaces, that are located in diaconiae, the charitable institutions founded in Rome at the end of the 7th century, and whose administration was largely the responsibility of the lay community. Furthermore, as several of the cycles seem to decorate private chapels, perhaps provided to the wealthy laity in return for their donations to the church, they emerge as the early ancestors of the works found in the private chapels, decorated for rich benefactors, which proliferate in the late Middle Ages.
Graduate

This study of mural painting in southern India aims to change the received narrative of painting in South Asia not only by bringing to light a body of work previously understudied and in many cases undocumented, but by showing how that corpus contributes vitally to the study of South Indian art and history. At the broadest level, this dissertation reworks our understanding of a critical moment in South Asian history that has until recently been seen as a period of decadence, setting the stage for the rise of colonial power in South Asia. Militating against the notion of decline, I demonstrate the artistic, social, and political dynamism of this period by documenting and analyzing the visual and inscriptional content of temple and palace murals donated by merchants, monastics, and political elites. The dissertation consists of two parts: documentation and formal analysis, and semantic and historical analysis. Documentation and formal analysis of these murals, which decorate the walls and ceilings of temples and palaces, are foundational for further art historical study. I establish a rubric for style and date based on figural typology, narrative structure, and the way in which text is incorporated into the murals. I clarify the kinds of narrative structures employed by the artists, and trace how these change over time. Finally, I identify the three most prevalent genres of painting: narrative, figural (as portraits and icons), and topographic. One of the outstanding features of these murals, which no previous scholarship has seriously considered, is that script is a major compositional and semantic element of the murals. By the eighteenth century, narrative inscriptions in the Tamil and Telugu languages, whose scripts are visually distinct, consistently framed narrative paintings. For all of the major sites considered in this dissertation, I have transcribed and translated these inscriptions. Establishing a rubric for analysis of the pictorial imagery alongside translations of the text integrated into the murals facilitates my analysis of the function and iconicity of script, and application of the content of the inscriptions to interpretation of the paintings. My approach to text, which considers inscriptions to be both semantically and visually meaningful, is woven into a framework of analysis that includes ritual context, patronage, and viewing practices. In this way, the dissertation builds an historical account of an understudied period, brings to light a new archive for the study of art in South Asia, and develops a new methodology for understanding Nayaka-period painting. Chapters Three, Four, and Five each elaborate on one of the major genres identified in Chapter Two: narrative, figural, and topographic painting. My study of narrative focuses on the most popular genre of text produced at this time, talapuranam (Skt. sthalapurana), as well as hagiographies of teachers and saints (guruparampara). Turning to figural depiction, I take up the subject of portraiture. My study provides new evidence of the active patronage by merchants, religious and political elites through documentation and analysis of previously unrecorded donor inscriptions and donor portraits. Under the rubric of topographic painting I analyze the representation of sacred sites joined together to create entire sacred landscapes mapped onto the walls and ceilings of the temples. Such images are closely connected to devotional (bhakti) literature that describes and praises these places and spaces. The final chapter of the dissertation proposes new ways of understanding how the images were perceived and activated by their contemporary audiences. I argue that the kinesthetic experience of the paintings is central to their concept, design, and function.

Religious tourism in the 21st century is presented in one form or another in many segments of the tourism business, and even in those that are not directly related to it. The goals of religious tourism at present are the knowledge of traditional cultures, the history of religions, national religious traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and ceremonies, participating in them as spectators, acquaintance with unique architectural monuments, including the traditional methods of building religious buildings, with masterpieces of icon painting, sculptures, mosaics, and decoration. In the modern scientific community, there is a stable definition of tourist trips associated with visiting religious sites for various purposes. This chapter explores religious tourism as a source of knowledge sharing and trading through a Russian case.