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Archangel Gabriel |
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(Together with the icon "Mother of God", make up the composition "Annunciation"). 11th century. Revetment between 1108 - 1120. 111.5 x 67 cm Tempera on board Revetment of gilded silver. From the church of the Mother of God Peribleptos (St. Clement’s) Ohrid. Today - Icon Gallery, Ohrid. Condition: In the lower half of the icon serious damage caused by the flaking plaster ground and layer of paint. Left leg and parts of the hiton and himation are totally destroyed. A vertical crack is in the centre and part of the ground is lost. At affixing the revetment, partly damaged was the inscription written in paint on the background of the icon. The revetment is also severely damaged. On the upper part of the frame, almost totally destroyed are the three medallions. The lower part of the frame and parts of the left and right angles of the revetment are completely destroyed. The heads of two of the Lord’s angels are destroyed. The foundation, the board, is cracked in several places. On some photographs made after World War II, a metal halo is visible. Later on, the trace of the halo was lost. |
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Iconography: The basis of the synopsis has the text of Luke the Evangelist (Luke 1:26-38). The composition "Annunciation" is made of two distinctive panels-icons. On the first is portrayed Archangel Gabriel in full length and in movement, indicated through the slightly lifted right foot and lifted arm, with which the Archangel is blessing. The Mother of God on the monumental composition is portrayed seated on a low throne without a back. She holds a purple knot in her left hand and a spindle in her right. With her head slightly bowed she reveals the relationship with Archangel Gabriel, who tells her the good news. Origin: It is not known to which church or religious institution these icons belonged. Their dimensions indicate a large building where they may have been placed on the iconostasis. In the 11th century in Ohrid such buildings were the church St. Sophia or the archiepiscopal residence. The fact that through the years there was no thick layer of dust or soot on the icons leads to the idea that they were placed into a large building or more probably in one of the rooms of archiepiscopal residence, where they were not exposed to a large concentration of soot from the candles and icon-lamps. The preservation of the metal revetment also supports the assumption that the icons may have been in the archiepiscopal seat, all the more so because it is known that the Annunciation appears on the 14th century (molivdovul), where the name Gregory Archbishop of Justiniana Prima, is recorded. Conservation: Cleaning and conservation of the icons was carried out in the laboratory of the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments. During the conservation the revetments of both icons were taken off. The painted inscriptions on the background of the icon Archangel Gabriel were discovered later on, at the time of affixing the revetment beds for the enamel plates on which the inscription was written. Because in two places there were three plates in a strip, the painted inscriptions under them were considerably damaged, but not so much as to render them illegible. During the cleaning of the Mother of God icon, the layer of the repeating of the hiton and himation was not removed.
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Icons of Macedonia |
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