Macedonian Fresco-Painting

St. Climent, lithical icon

          Several fragments of fresco-painting, discovered in the basilicas and in the few cultural buildings in the ancient town Stobi give a clear explanation of art in Macedonia before the coming of the Slavs. Dating back from 4th and 5th century, these paintings of famous saints, created with special attention and rich with colours and feelings, undoubtly indicate the development of this art under Helenic influence. When the Slavs came, fine art went into a regression due to their state of development at the time.

Iconostasis in St. Spas, Skopje

Climent and Naum, the followers of the Slav apostles Cyril and Methodius, contributed to the development of culture in Macedonia. Their efforts are well known in Ohrid, where both of them built their monasteries: Climent near the Fortress, while Naum near the source of the river Crni Drim, and decorated them with frescos and icons. Both monasteries were destroyed and nothing was preserved from the frescos and church furniture, thus the level of art development and achievement cannot be determined. Due to the troubled times of wars only few documents about the paintings have been preserved from the time of Czar Samoil. 

           Several periods of development past from that frescoe-painting and all the way to the frescoe-painting that fully displays its power on the walls of the cathedral church St. Sofia in Ohrid.

Mother of God, apsis in St. Sofia

Crucifixion, Mother of God Hodigitria, Ohrid 13th century

Such are the remains of the frescoes in the basilica St. Ahil on the Prespa Lake island that was built by Samoil after he had conquered Larisa.         

The cathedral church St. Sofia in Ohrid was built in the time of Archbishop Leo, around 1045, and the frescoes are unique in artistic value. The images are drawn with skillful lines, the saints are depicted in motion, stopped unexpectedly, and followed by the basic idea in describing the spiritual values in contrast to the secular values without stressing the unnecessary details reflected in the abundance of colours with well-combined, calm and strong tones in a precisely determined "repertoire" of frescoes.

In the 11 century a significant painting activity in fresco-painting and icon-painting was developed in Macedonia. 

Icon Mathew Evangelist from Evtihi and Mihail's workshop, Ohrid, 1295

The church St. Leontij Vodoca, Strumica district, is one of the more important works dating from that period worth mentioning. It was created towards 11th century and the frescoes with the big eyes and well-shaped faces attract the attention of the visitors. In addition, the frescoes from the church St. Bogorodica Eleusa in the village Veljusa - Strumica district is also worth mentioning. This is just another peice of evidence of the value of the unknown icon and fresco-painters who worked in the churches throughout Macedonia in 11th century. The icon dedicated to St. Vasil and St. Nikola, found in the church Mother of God Peribleptos in Ohrid dates back from that period. This icon depicts the two saints in full size, dressed in archbishop attire. In the "icon-painting" the images are more refined and created more carefully due to the small dimensions. We will mention two Ohrid icons from 11th century that blend the composition of the Annunciation and have an abundance of technical knowledge that enable the intensity of the colours to remain intact.

The first half of 12th century is known for its high quality works with distinctive style and interpretation of painting and colours that play a prominent role. We will mention two important churches from that period, the church St. Pantelejmon in the village Nerezi - Skopje, and the church St. Gorgi in the village Kurbinovo, Prespa. The frescoes in the Nerezi church date back from 1164 and their authors were tallented fresco-painters who were guided by only one goal - to stress the soul and the feelings of the main character. The fresco-painters paid great attention to the individuality of the figures, thus all the figures are completely different. The frescoes "Lamentation of Christ", "Descending of Christ from the Cross", "Entry into Jerusalem" as well as the figures of St. Damjan, St. Trifun and St. John the Baptist are evidence of the exceptional tallent and achievement of the masters. 

Hermit Gabriel Lesnovski, Zletovo, 1345

Unlike the church in Nerezi, the church St. Gorgi in Kurbinovo was painted in 1191 and is popular for its new picturesque "baroque" style especially in depicting garments. The attire of St. Archangel Gabriel from the Annunciation is especially famous.

The 13-century painting in Macedonia was exceptionally rich with art work. We will mention only a few: the frescoes in St. Jovan Blagoslov Kaneo and St. Mother of God Peribleptos (St. Climent) in Ohrid, St. Nicholas in Mariovo etc. The stylistic features of these frescoes and the aim of the frescoe-painters this period was to return back into 11th century. In the monastery St. Nikita in the village Manastir a manuscript from 1271 has been found. The name of the fresco-painter Jovan, who painted the big icon of St. Gorgi in the church St. Gorgi in Struga, was mentioned for the first time.

The frescoes in the church St. Mother of God Peribleptos (St. Climent) were created by the fresco-painters Mihail and Evstihij, who were supported by Progor Zgur. The frescoes are picturesque and rich in tones of colours, the figures are set in motion, thus giving a much better expression. We will mention a few more icons from the Ohrid collection that illustrate the final period of the Constantinopol School of Fine Art, such as the double lithic icon with "The Crucifixation of Jesus Christ" on the one side and "Mother of God" on the other.

 

          The 14th century was the best period for construction and fine art in Macedonia. The medival fresco-painters Mihail and Evtihij painted the frescoes in the church St. Nikita near the village Banjani in the Skopje district as well as in the big church St. Gorgi in the village Staro Nagoricani, Kumanovo distict, refurbished by King Milutin.

          Many icons were created in 14th century. We will mention only a couple from the Ohrid collection: the lithical icon with "Annunciation" and "Our Saviour Virgin Mary" decorated with gold and enamel frames as well as "Jesus Christ the Saviour". The most significant achievement of the century is the frescoes from the church St. Archangel Gabriel in the village Leskovo, created in 1341 by 4 artists, three of who are known - Marko, Mihailo and Savast. The rare illustrations of iconographic themes from the field of theology illuminate the high educated level of the monks in that monastery. Similar success has been achieved in the churches St. Mother of God in the village Matejce, St. Nicholas in the village Psaca, Kriva Palanka district, Marko's Monastery, Skopje district, St. Spas in the village Kucevista, Skopje district. New elements emerge in the frescoes - in the order of the figures in the churches - as a result of the adaptation process to the troublesome period before the conquest of the Turks. Towards the end of the 14th century serious political and economic changes happened. 

Lamentation of Christ, Mother of God Peribleptos, Ohrid, 1295

          Macedonia fell under Turkish rule, and as a result regression in painting and extinction of the fresco-painting guild came about.

          The Christains became active in the second half of 15th century. They refurbished some of the churches and started to paint icons once again. During the rule of the Sultan Suleiman the Great, the High Court issued special documents for construction and establishment of new churches. The 15-century churches worth mentioning are St. Mother of God in the village Velesto (1444-1451), the church dedicated to all saints in the village Lesani (1452), Ohrid district, the church in the village Dolgaec, Prilep district (1485) etc. In 16th and 17th century the construction of small one-naval basilicas with modest and simple decorations painted to make profit rather than art proceeded. The 17th century was uneventful for fresco-painting, but in the 18th and 19th painting started to pick up again. New three-naval churches with high quality interiors were built. Great attention was paid to the icons and iconostasis. Dico from the village Tresonce and Mihail from Krusevo were the most prominent icon-painters in this period.