Theophanes the Greek years. Theophanes the Greek - biography of the artist, famous works, exhibitions
Painting of the Trinity chapel in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin Street in Novgorod.
1378
(Born around 1337 - died after 1405)
Theophanes the Greek is one of the greatest masters of the Middle Ages. His works, executed in Byzantium, have not survived. All of his famous works were created in Rus' and for Rus', where he lived for more than thirty years. He introduced the Russians to the highest achievements of Byzantine spiritual culture, which in his time was experiencing one of the last ups and downs.
Few information about Feofan is found in the Moscow and Novgorod chronicles, but a letter written around 1415 by the Moscow spiritual writer and artist Epiphanius the Wise to Archimandrite Kirill of the Tver Spaso-Afanasiev Monastery is of particular value. Epiphany's message is interesting in that it provides a unique opportunity to get an idea of the principles of the master's work. In his message, he reports on the Four Gospels he kept, illustrated by Theophanes and decorated with the image of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
The description of the figure is given with many details. “When he depicted or painted all this, no one saw him ever look at the samples, as some of our icon painters do, who are constantly peering in bewilderment, looking here and there, and not so much paint with paints, but look at the samples. He, it seemed, paints with his hands, and he constantly walks, talks with those who come and thinks about the lofty and wise with his mind, but with his sensual eyes, he sees reasonable reason. parables" and its cunning structure".
It is known from the message that Feofan, "a Greek by birth, a deliberate iconographer of books and an excellent painter among icon painters," painted more than 40 stone churches in Constantinople, Chalcedon, Galata, Cafe (Feodosia), as well as on Russian soil.
In the Novgorod III Chronicle, Theophan's first work is mentioned in 1378. It refers to the painting by him of the Novgorod Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street - the only work of the master that has survived to this day, which has documentary evidence and still remains the main source for judging about his art.
The frescoes of the church have been preserved in fragments, so the system of its painting can only be partially restored. In the dome of the temple there is a half-figure of Christ Pantokrator, surrounded by archangels and seraphim. In the drum are images of the forefathers, including Adam, Abel, Noah, Seth, Melchizedek, Enoch, the prophets Elijah, John the Baptist. On the choir stalls in the northwestern corner chamber (Trinity chapel), the images are better preserved. The aisle is painted with images of saints, compositions "Our Lady of the Sign with the Archangel Gabriel", "Adoration of the Sacrifice", "Trinity". Feofan's manner is brightly individual, distinguished by expressive temperament, freedom and variety in the choice of techniques. The form is emphatically picturesque, devoid of detail, built with the help of juicy and free strokes. The muffled general tone of the painting contrasts with bright white highlights, like flashes of lightning illuminating the harsh, spiritualized faces of the saints. Contours are outlined by powerful dynamic lines. The folds of the clothes are devoid of detailed modeling, lying wide and hard, at sharp angles.
The master's palette is stingy and restrained, it is dominated by orange-brown, silver-blue, corresponding to the tense spiritual state of the images. "Painting by Theophanes is a philosophical concept in colors, moreover, the concept is quite severe, far from ordinary optimism. Its essence is the idea of a global sinfulness of a person before God, as a result of which he found himself almost hopelessly removed from him and can only wait with fear and horror for the arrival of his uncompromising and ruthless judge, whose image with extreme severity looks at the sinful humanity from under the dome of the Novgorod temple", - writes the researcher of Russian medieval art V. V. Bychkov.
"Stylite"
 |
Theophanes the Greek creates a world full of drama and tension of the spirit. His saints are stern, detached from everything around, delving into the contemplation of silence - the only way to salvation. Artists tried to follow Theophan's style in Novgorod, painting the Church of Theodore Stratilates on the Brook, but on the whole the individuality of the master turned out to be exceptional for Rus' - a country far from the spiritual experience of Byzantium and looking for its own way.
After 1378 Feofan, apparently, worked in Nizhny Novgorod, but his paintings of this period have not reached us.
Approximately from 1390, he was in Moscow and briefly in Kolomna, where he could paint the Assumption Cathedral, which was later completely rebuilt. Here, in the cathedral, the later famous shrine was kept - the icon "Our Lady of the Don" (on its back - "Assumption"), later transferred to the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (now in the State Tretyakov Gallery). Some researchers associate its performance with the work of Theophan the Greek.
The master made several paintings in the Moscow Kremlin: in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin with a chapel of St. Lazarus (1395), where Feofan worked together with Simeon Cherny, in the Archangel (1399) and Annunciation (1405) cathedrals. He painted the latter together with Andrei Rublev and Prokhor from Gorodets. In the Kremlin, Feofan took part in the murals of the treasury of Prince Vladimir Andreevich and the tower of Vasily I. None of these works has survived. It is possible that Theophanes the Greek participated in the creation of icons of the Deesis tier, which is currently in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. However, as proven by recent studies, this iconostasis is not the original, dating back to 1405, and the Deesis tier could be moved here only after the devastating fire in the Kremlin that occurred in 1547.
In any case, the icons "The Savior in Strength", "The Mother of God", "John the Baptist", "Apostle Peter", "Apostle Paul", "Basil the Great", "John Chrysostom" reveal such features of style and such high technical skill that allow to assume here the work of a great master.
The manner of Theophan the Greek in icon painting (if we agree that the icons of the Deesis tier of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin were painted by Theophan) differs significantly from fresco. This can be explained by the specifics of icon painting. The images of the Deesis tier are impressive and monumental. Almost two-meter figures, full of inner significance and self-deepening, make up a single composition, subject to one plan - to embody thanksgiving prayer Saints Savior, creator and lord heavenly powers, and their intercession for the human race on the day of the Last Judgment. This idea determined the iconographic solution of the whole group as a whole, and of each image separately. The iconography of the rank has its origins in the altar paintings of Byzantine churches and is closely connected with the texts of the main prayers of the liturgy. A similar program of the Deesis tier with "The Savior in Strength" subsequently became widespread in Russian iconostases, but here it appears for the first time.
In contrast to fresco painting, the images of icons are not so expressive in appearance. Their drama and grief seem to have gone deep, revealing themselves in the soft glow of their faces, in the muted colors of their clothes. Each face in terms of type and expression of the emotional state is brightly individual, almost portrait. The contours of the figures are calmer; in their drawing, the classical tradition, dating back to antiquity, is more clearly visible. The icons are painted masterfully, using complex and varied techniques that only an outstanding master can do. Among the icons supposedly associated with the name of Theophanes are "John the Baptist Angel of the Desert", "Transfiguration" and "Four-part" (all in the State Tretyakov Gallery).
"Our Lady"
 |
Icon of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin
There are many cases in the history of Russia when a visiting foreigner multiplies its glory and becomes national pride. So Theophanes the Greek, a native of their Byzantium, a Greek by origin (hence the nickname) became one of the greatest
Choice in favor of Rus'
Most likely, if Theophanes had not decided to radically change his life, having arrived in Russia instead of Italy in the retinue (as it is supposed) of Metropolitan Cyprian, he would have been lost among the numerous Byzantine artists. But in Muscovite Rus' he became the first of a brilliant constellation of icon painters. Despite widespread recognition, the dates of the artist's birth and death are given approximately - 1340-1410.
Lack of information
It is known that Theophanes the Greek, whose biography sins with white spots, was born in Byzantium, worked both in Constantinople itself and in its suburb - Chalcedon. According to the frescoes preserved in Feodosia (then Kafa), it can be seen that for some time the artist worked in the Genoese colonies - Galata and Cafe. None of his Byzantine works have survived, and world fame came to him thanks to the work done in Russia.
New environment
Here, in his life and work, he had the opportunity to cross paths with many great people of that time - Andrei Rublev, Sergius of Radonezh, Dmitry Donskoy, Epiphanius the Wise (whose letter to Archimandrite Cyril is the main source of biographical data of the great icon painter) and Metropolitan Alexei. This community of ascetics and educators did a lot for the glory of Rus'.
The main source of information about Theophanes the Greek
Theophanes the Greek arrived in Novgorod in 1370, that is, a fully mature man and an established artist. He lived here for over 30 years, until his death. His performance is amazing. According to the testimony of the same Epiphanius the Wise, Theophanes the Greek painted 40 churches in total. The letter to the archimandrite of the Tver Spaso-Afanasievsky monastery was written in 1415, after the death of the master, and has survived to this day not in the original, but in a copy of the second half of the 17th century. There are some chronicle confirmations of the facts and additions. One of them reports that in 1378, at the behest of the boyar Vasily Danilovich, the “Greek” Feofan painted the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, located on the Trade side of Veliky Novgorod.
Beginning of the Novgorod period
The frescoes of Theophanes the Greek on the walls of this monastery became his first work in Rus' mentioned in documents. They, even preserved in fragments, being in a very good condition, have survived to our time, and are among the greatest masterpieces of medieval art. The painting of the dome and walls, where the choirs of the Trinity chapel were located, is in the best condition. In the depicted figures of the "Trinity" and Macarius of Egypt, the peculiar manner of writing, which the brilliant Theophanes the Greek possessed, is very clearly visible. In the dome, a bust image has been preserved, which is the most grandiose. In addition, the figure of the Mother of God has been partially preserved. And in the drum (the part that supports the dome) there are images of John the Baptist. And this is why these frescoes are especially valuable, since, unfortunately, the works created over the next few years have not been documented and are disputed by some researchers. In general, all the monasteries are made in an undeniably new manner - lightly and with wide, free strokes, the color scheme is restrained, even sparingly, the main attention is paid to the faces of the saints. In the manner of writing Theophanes the Greek, his special philosophy is felt.
Rus''s ability to revive
There was no great victory of Dmitry Donskoy yet, the raids of the Golden Horde continued, Russian cities burned, temples were destroyed. But that's what Russia is strong for, that it was reborn, rebuilt, and became even more beautiful. Feofan the Greek also took part in the paintings of the restored monasteries, who from 1380 worked in Nizhny Novgorod, in the capital of the Suzdol-Nizhekorodsky principality, completely burned in 1378. Presumably, he could take part in the murals of the Spassky Cathedral and Monastery of the Annunciation. And already in 1392, the artist worked at the request of the Grand Duchess Evdokia, the wife of Prince Dmitry. Later, the cathedral was rebuilt several times, and the frescoes have not been preserved.
Moving to Moscow
Theophan the Greek, whose biography, unfortunately, is very often associated with the word "presumably", after Kolomna moves to Moscow. Here, and this is confirmed by the Trinity Chronicles and a well-known letter, he paints the walls and decorates three churches. At that time, he already had his own school, students and followers, with whom, with the active participation of the famous Moscow icon painter Simeon Cherny, in 1395 Feofan painted the walls of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the chapel of St. Lazarus in the Kremlin. All work was carried out by order of the same Grand Duchess Evdokia. And again, it must be stated that the church has not been preserved, the existing Bolshoi stands in its place.
Evil fate pursuing the work of the master
The recognized genius of the Middle Ages, the icon painter Theophanes the Greek, together with his students, begins in 1399 to decorate the Archangel Cathedral, completely burned down by the Khan of the Golden Horde and the Tyumen Principality - Tokhtamysh. It is known from Epiphany's letter that the master depicted the Moscow Kremlin with all its churches on the walls of the temple. But in the second half of the 16th century, the Italian architect Aleviz Novy dismantled the temple and built a new one of the same name, which has survived to this day.
The art of Theophanes the Greek is mostly represented by frescoes, since he painted the walls of churches until the end of his days. In 1405, his creative path intersects with the activities of Andrei Rublev and his teacher - the "old man from Gorodets", as the Moscow icon painter Prokhor from Gorodets is called. These three famous masters of their time together created the cathedral church of Vasily I, which is in the Cathedral of the Annunciation.
The frescoes have not been preserved - the court church was naturally rebuilt.
Unconditional evidence
What has been preserved? What memory of himself did the great Theophanes the Greek leave to his descendants? Icons. According to one of the existing versions, the iconostasis that has survived to this day was originally painted for the Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna. And after the fire of 1547, it was moved to the Kremlin. In the same cathedral there was “Our Lady of the Don”, an icon with its own biography. Being one of the many modifications of "Tenderness" (another name is "The Joy of All Joys"), the image is covered with a legend about its amazing help in the victory won by the army of Grand Duke Dmitry over the hordes of the Golden Horde in 1380. After the Battle of Kulikovo, both the prince and the patroness icon received the prefix "Don" and "Don". The image itself is two-sided - on the reverse side there is the “Assumption of the Mother of God”. The priceless masterpiece is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. Many analyzes have been carried out, and it can be argued that its author is, of course, Theophanes the Greek. The icons "Four-digit" and "John the Baptist - the Angel of the Desert with Life" belong to the icon painter's workshop, but his personal authorship is disputed. The works of the masters of his school include an icon of a rather large size, painted in 1403 - "Transfiguration".
Scarcity of biographical data
Indeed, there are very few documented works of the great master. But Epiphanius the Wise, who knew him personally and was friends with him, so sincerely admires his talent, the diversity of talent, the breadth of knowledge, that it is impossible not to believe his testimonies. Spas Theophan the Greek is often cited as an example of the work of the Greek school with a pronounced Byzantine style of writing. This fresco, as noted above, is the most grandiose of all the surviving fragments of the wall paintings of the Novgorod Cathedral discovered in 1910. It is one of the world-famous great architectural monuments of medieval Rus'. Another image of the Savior, which belongs to the works of the master, is located in the Kremlin on the Blagoveshchensk iconostasis.
One of the Great Trinity
Among the frescoes of this cathedral is another masterpiece of world significance, the author of which is Theophanes the Greek. "Trinity" is perfectly preserved and is located in the choir stalls. The canonical plot "Hospitality of Abraham" underlies this work, although his figure on the fresco has not been preserved, the "Trinity" deserves a still unrealized detailed study. In his letter, Epiphanius admires the many talents of Theophan the Greek - the gift of a storyteller, the talent of an intelligent interlocutor, and an unusual manner of writing. According to this man, the Greek, among other things, had the talent of a miniaturist. He is characterized as an icon painter, a master of monumental fresco painting and a miniaturist. “He was a deliberate iconographer of books” - this is how this praise sounds in the original. The authorship of the miniatures from the Psalter, owned by Ivan the Terrible and kept in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, is attributed to Theophanes the Greek. He is also supposed to be the miniaturist of The Gospel of Fyodor Koshka. The fifth son of the direct ancestor of the Romanovs, was the patron of Theophan the Greek. The book is superbly designed. Her skillful headpieces and initials made in gold are striking.
The identity of Theophanes the Greek
Before Theophanes, many icon painters, and even his contemporaries, relied primarily on drawing (a thin outline made previously from the original) in the manufacture of their works. And the Greek’s free manner of writing surprised and captivated many - “he seemed to be painting with his hands,” Epiphanius admires, calling him “a marvelous husband.” He certainly had a pronounced creative personality. unknown exact date death of a genius, in some places it is even said that he died after 1405. In 1415, the author of a famous letter mentions Grek in the past tense. So, he was no longer alive. And Feofan was buried, again presumably, somewhere in Moscow. All this is very sad and only says that Russia has always experienced a lot of troubled times, during which the enemies destroyed the very memory of the people who made up her glory.
V. Lazarev's opinion
In order to trace the main stages of Theophanes the Greek's work, it is necessary to study the cultural and historical environment that influenced the formation of him as a person and artist, to find out his significance in the Byzantine culture of the XIV century, the reasons that prompted him to emigrate, and also to understand what influence he had on Byzantine master Russian environment.
Theophanes the Greek, born in the 30s of the XIV century, entered the period of conscious life in the midst of "hesychast disputes." He undoubtedly heard talk about the nature of the Light of Tabor, about divine energies, about the communion of a deity to a person, about “intelligent” prayer. It is possible that he even took part in these discussions that agitated the minds of Byzantine society. Epiphany's testimony that Theophanes was "a glorious sage, a very cunning philosopher" speaks of the artist's erudition and the breadth of his spiritual needs. But what was the direct attitude of Theophan to Hesychasm remains unknown to us. One thing can be said with certainty - he could not remain unaffected by the largest ideological movement of his time. The severity of Theophan's images, their special spirituality, their sometimes exaggerated ecstasy - all this is connected with hesychasm, all this follows from the essence of hesychast teaching. However, Theophan's works testify to something else: they indisputably speak of the master's deep dissatisfaction with this teaching. Theophanes did not lock himself into church dogma, but, on the contrary, largely overcame it. He thought much more freely than the Hesychasts. And as he moved away from Constantinople in his wanderings, his horizons became wider and his convictions became more and more independent.
Feofan's creative growth should have been greatly facilitated by his work in Galata, where he came into close contact with Western culture. He wandered through the narrow streets of Galata, admired the beauty of its palazzos and temples, got acquainted with the works of Italian craftsmanship, saw luxuriously dressed Genoese merchants, observed free Western customs unusual for a Byzantine, followed the galleys arriving at the port, bringing goods from Italy. The life of this Genoese colony, which was a powerful outpost of early Italian capitalism, was full of efficiency. And just in this it differed sharply from the economic structure of the Byzantine society, which was in no hurry and continued to live in the old fashioned way. Probably, Theophanes, as a man of outstanding mind, should have understood that the center of world politics was steadily moving from Byzantium to the trading Italian republics and that the Roman state was tending to a rapid decline. Contemplating from the fortress towers of Galata the Golden Horn and Constantinople spread out on its banks, the best buildings of which, after the pogrom perpetrated by the crusaders, lay in ruins or were neglected and abandoned, Theophanes had every opportunity to compare the impoverished capital of his once great homeland with the rapidly growing and richest Genoese colony , which, like an octopus, stretched its tentacles in all directions, establishing one after another powerful trading posts in the countries of the East and on the Black Sea coast. And this comparison should have generated deep bitterness in Theophan's soul. In Galata, he took a sip of that new life, which carried with it the fresh trends of early humanism.
Having come into contact with Western culture, Theophan could choose two paths for himself: either to stay in Byzantium and plunge headlong into endless theological disputes about the nature of the Light of Tabor, or else to emigrate to Italy, as many of his brethren did and as those who joined later did. Italian humanists Manuel Chrysolor and Bessarion of Nicaea. Theophanes did not follow any of these paths. Dissatisfied with the situation in Byzantium, he decided to leave his homeland. But he directed his steps not to the west, but to the east - first to Kaffa, and then to Rus'. And here his work entered a new phase of development, which would have been impossible in the fanatical and intolerant Byzantium, where his art, which had outgrown the narrow confessional framework, would undoubtedly be ostracized sooner or later.
There was another reason that pushed Feofan to emigrate. Although his activity unfolded in the second half of the 14th century, when a new style, hostile to early Paleologian neo-Hellenism, had already won in Byzantium, Theophanes continued to remain entirely connected with the free pictorial traditions of the first half of the century. To some extent, he was the last representative of the great traditions of early Paleologan art.
And so he must have been especially keenly aware of the crisis of the latter. The impending academic reaction, with its narrow monastic spirit, could not but frighten Theophan, since it ran counter to his artistic views. Anyone who has ever seen the Feofanovsky murals in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, with their so pronounced picturesqueness, and mentally compared them with the dry, tortured works of the Constantinople school of the second half of the 14th century, the deep abyss that lies between these monuments will immediately become obvious. To Theophanes' great happiness, his art was a belated flower on the withered Byzantine field. artistic culture, as belated as the philosophy of Giordano Bruno or the humanism of Shakespeare in relation to the Renaissance. Similar processes of uneven development are constantly encountered in history. And only taking into account the originality of this kind of phenomena, it is possible to assign the right historical place to the art of Theophan the Greek.
The historical situation we have described, which developed in Byzantium by the 40-60s of the XIV century, largely explains the reasons for Theophan's emigration from Byzantium. He fled from the impending ecclesiastical and artistic reaction, fled from what was deeply hostile to his views and convictions. If Theophanes had not left Byzantium, he would probably have turned into one of those faceless epigones Byzantine painting, from the work of which breathes cold and boredom. Having left for Rus', Theophanes found here such a wide field of activity and such a tolerant attitude towards his bold innovations that he could never have found in materially and spiritually impoverished Byzantium.
Epiphanius reports that Theophanes, before coming to Novgorod, worked in Constantinople, Chalcedon, Galata and Caffa. Chalcedon and Galata are located near the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Galata, strictly speaking, is even one of its quarters), while Kaffa lies on the way from Constantinople to Russia. It would seem that this testimony of a writer well-informed about the artist's life leaves no doubt about Feofan's belonging to the Constantinopolitan school. Nevertheless, a very artificial and completely unconvincing theory was developed, according to which Theophanes did not come from Constantinople, but from the Cretan school. This theory, first developed by Millet, was accepted by Diehl and Breuillet. Later, the "Cretan" theory was replaced by an even less substantiated "Macedonian" theory. The latter was put forward by B.I. Purishev and B.V. Mikhailovsky, who arbitrarily made a Macedonian master out of Feofan. Only M.V. Alpatov, D.V. Ainalov and Talbot Rayet firmly regarded Theophan as a Constantinopolitan artist. Since the question of which school Theophanes came from is by no means an idle one, since our understanding of the general process of development of Byzantine painting depends on one or another of his decisions, we should dwell on this issue in detail, otherwise we will face a very real danger of incorrectly elucidating the problem of schools and artistic traditions in the Byzantine art of the XIV century.
Millais was the first to connect Theophanes with the Cretan school, which acquired in his fundamental work on the iconography of the gospel a meaning that was not at all befitting of its real specific gravity. Apparently, during the reconstruction of the Cretan school, Millet followed in the footsteps of N.P. Kondakova and N.P. Likhachev. It is quite possible that the idea that Theophan belonged to the Cretan school was prompted to him by the following cursory remark by N.P. Likhachev: “Theophan, an employee and almost a teacher of Rublev, was an innovator and representative of that neo-Byzantine, later Italian-Greek-Cretan school, with which the type of “Tenderness” is associated. Be that as it may, but by attributing Theophanes to the Cretan school and at the same time attributing three fresco cycles of Novgorod (the Church of the Assumption on the Volotovo field, the Church of Theodore Stratilates, the church in Kovalev) to the Macedonian school, Millet and Dil, following in his footsteps, thereby fell into the greatest contradiction, which P.P. Muratov: three monuments of the same direction and one pictorial style (murals of the Transfiguration of the Savior, the Church of the Assumption on the Volotovo field and Theodore Stratilat) turned out to be completely arbitrarily distributed between two schools that are fundamentally different from each other - Cretan and Macedonian. This state of affairs could only happen because Millet based his division of monuments on schools not on a stylistic, but on an iconographic principle. If the venerable French scholar had based his judgment on direct knowledge of the Novgorod murals, he would have been convinced that all these three fresco cycles came from the same school - from the school of Theophan the Greek, who had nothing to do with either Crete or Macedonia, but was typical representative of the capital's Constantinopolitan manner...
Already one letter from Epiphany leaves no doubt about Theophan's belonging to the Constantinopolitan school. The master, who painted many temples in Tsaregrad itself, in Chalcedon and Kaffa, hardly came here from Crete or Macedonia, especially since both of these places were a province compared to the capital. The wonderful art of Theophan is marked with a purely metropolitan seal, it breathes the metropolitan spirit. And this art finds the closest stylistic analogies to itself in the monuments of Constantinople, and by no means in the works of the Cretan and Macedonian masters.
If we take the images of the forefathers most characteristic of Theophanes the Greek from the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Novgorod and try to find the closest analogy among the monuments of Byzantine craftsmanship, then this will undoubtedly be the patriarchs from the southern dome of the inner narthex of Kahrie Jami. Although the figures of the patriarchs are made here in mosaic technique, nevertheless they are so close both in their general spirit and in details to the Theophanes saints that any doubts about the capital origin of our master immediately disappear. In Kahrie's mosaics, we encounter the same majestic severity of images, the same freedom of compositional solutions, the same bold asymmetric shifts. The figures of Adam, Seth, Noah, Eber, Levi, Issachar, Dan, Joseph reveal a special typological proximity to the Feofanovsky forefathers. There are also many points of contact with the images of Theophanes in some figures of the prophets and kings of Israel in the northern dome of the same inner narficus (cf., for example, the figures of Aaron, Hor and Samuel).
Although Theophan's manner of writing is exclusively individual, one can still find direct sources for it in the monuments of the Constantinople school. These are, first of all, the frescoes of the refectory of Kahrie Jami, which appeared at the same time when the mosaics were also made, i.e. in the second decade of the fourteenth century. Here the heads of individual saints (especially David of Thessalonica) seem to have come out from under the brush of Theophan. They are written in an energetic, free manner of writing, based on the extensive use of bold strokes and so-called marks, with which faces are modeled. These highlights and marks are especially actively used in the decoration of the forehead, cheekbones, nose crest. In itself, this technique is not new, it is very common in the painting of the XIV century, mainly its first half. What brings together the murals of Kahrie Jami and the frescoes of Theophanes is the remarkable accuracy in the distribution of highlights, which always fall into the right place, thanks to which the form acquires strength and constructiveness. In the monuments of the provincial circle (as, for example, in the paintings of the cave temple of Theoskepastos in Trebizond), we will never find such accuracy of modeling. Only having become acquainted with such provincial works, you are finally convinced of Theophan's metropolitan proficiency, who perfectly mastered all the subtleties of Constantinople craftsmanship.
The basic principles of Feofanov's art also point to the Constantinople school - the intense psychologism of images, the extraordinary sharpness of individual characteristics, the dynamic freedom and picturesqueness of compositional constructions, the exquisite "tonal coloring" that overcomes the motley multicolor oriental palette and, finally, an extraordinary decorative flair, dating back to the best traditions of Constantinople painting. With all these facets of his art, Feofan appears before us as a metropolitan artist living on the aesthetic ideals of Constantinople society. And its strength lies in the fact that it starts not from the second, but from the first stage in the development of Palaiologan painting, when the latter was still imbued with a living creative spirit. Therefore, a great acquisition for Russian artistic culture was the arrival to us of such a master, who was the bearer of the best that gave birth to Tsaregrad neo-Hellenism of the XIV century.
Literature: Alpatov L.V. etc. Art. Painting, sculpture, graphics, architecture. Ed. 3rd, rev. and additional Moscow, "Enlightenment", 1969.
The works of Theophanes the Greek. And horses, frescoes, murals
 |
Apostle Peter. 1405. |
 |
Apostle Peter. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
John the Baptist. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
John the Baptist. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Mother of God. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Mother of God. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Transfiguration of the Lord, 1403 To view a large image |
 |
Apostle Paul. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Apostle Paul. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Assumption of the Mother of God, XIV century State Tretyakov Gallery To view a large image |
 |
Archangel Gabriel. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Archangel Gabriel. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Jesus Pantocrator Painting in the dome of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, Ilyina street, Novgorod, 1378 To view a large image |
 |
Our Lady of the Don. Around 1392 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow To view a large image |
 |
Basil the Great. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
John Chrysostom. 1405. Fragment The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Prophet Gideon. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Fresco Forefather Isaac The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Saved in power. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Fresco Archangel, 1378 Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
 |
Fresco Abel, 1378 Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
 |
Daniel the Stylite, 1378 Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
 |
Archangel Michael. 1405 The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin To view a large image |
 |
Fresco fragment, 1378 Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
 |
Fresco fragment, 1378 Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
 |
Old Testament Trinity, 1378 Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Ilyina street, Novgorod To view a large image |
Theophanes the Greek. appeared in Novgorod in the 70s of the 14th century. He was one of those great Byzantine emigrants, among whom was the Cretan Domenico Theotokopuli, the famous El Greco. The impoverished Byzantium was no longer able to provide work for its many artists. In addition, the political and ideological situation was less and less conducive to the rise of Byzantine art, which entered a period of crisis from the second half of the 14th century. The victory of the Hesychasts led to an increase in intolerance and to the strengthening of a dogmatic way of thinking, which gradually suppressed the weak sprouts of humanism of the early Paleologian culture. In these conditions the best people The Byzantines left their homeland in search of shelter in a foreign land. This is exactly what Theophanes the Greek did. In free Novgorod, among the distant Russian expanses, he gained that creative freedom, which he so lacked in Byzantium. Only here did he emerge from the jealous tutelage of the Greek clergy, only here did his remarkable talent unfold in full breadth.
A most interesting letter from the famous ancient Russian writer Epiphanius to his friend Cyril of Tver has been preserved 35 . This epistle, written around 1415, contains very valuable information about the life and work of Theophan the Greek, whom Epiphanius knew well personally. From a comparison of chronicle news with the facts reported by Epiphanius, it is clear that Theophanes was both a painter and a miniaturist, that he came to Russia as a mature master (otherwise he would not have been allowed to paint churches in Constantinople and a number of other Byzantine cities), that he worked not only in Novgorod and Nizhny, but also in grand-ducal Moscow, where he ended up no later than the mid-90s and where he collaborated with Andrei Rublev, that everywhere he aroused surprise with the liveliness and sharpness of the mind and the courage of picturesque daring. The epistle of Epiphanius allows us to draw another important conclusion. It leaves no doubt about Theophan's Constantinopolitan origin, since all the cities mentioned by Epiphanius, in which the artist worked before arriving in Rus', directly point to Constantinople as his homeland. In addition to Constantinople itself, this is Galata - the Genoese quarter of the Byzantine capital; it is located on the opposite side of the mouth of the Bosporus, Chalcedon; this, finally, is the Genoese colony of Kaffa (now Feodosia), lying on the way from Constantinople to Russia. The closest stylistic affinity of Theophan’s painting of the Savior on Ilyina with the frescoes of the pareklesia and the mosaics of the inner narfik of Kahriye Jami (southern and northern domes) only confirms Epiphany’s testimony about the artist’s Constantinople origin. Arriving in Rus', Feofan acted here as a successor of not late Paleolog With. 178
With. 179¦ traditions, marked by the seal of dry, soulless eclecticism, and advanced early Paleologic, still quite vividly connected with the “Paleologian Renaissance”, which reached its peak during the first half of the XIV century. And it so happened that Theophan sowed, first in Novgorod, and then in Moscow, those seeds that, on the parched soil of Byzantium, could no longer give rich shoots.
35 See: Lazarev V. N. Theophan the Greek and his school. M., 1961, p. 111–112.
Arriving in Novgorod, Feofan, naturally, began to carefully look at local life. He could not indifferently pass over those broad heretical movements that were unfolding with such force in this large handicraft center. Just in the years of the appearance of Theophan the Greek in Novgorod, the heresy of the Strigolniks spread here, directed with its edge against church hierarchy. Contact with the sober Novgorod environment and such ideological movements as strigolism should have brought a fresh stream to Feofan's work. It helped him move away from Byzantine dogmatism, expanded his horizons and taught him to think not only more freely, but also more realistically. Novgorodian art taught him the same. Probably, first of all, he was attracted by the wonderful Novgorod murals of the 12th century, which could not help but amaze him with the power and strength of their images, as well as the boldness of pictorial solutions. Perhaps Feofan also visited Pskov, otherwise it would be difficult to explain such a striking similarity between the Snetogorsk frescoes and his own works. Acquaintance with such works contributed to Feofan's familiarization with that laconic, strong and figurative artistic language that Novgorodians and Pskovians liked so much.
 [Col. ill.] 80. Seraphim. Fresco in the dome |
 [Col. ill.] 81. Trinity. Fresco in the chamber in the choir. Detail |
 [Col. ill.] 82. Angel from the Trinity. Fresco in the choir chamber Detail |
 [Col. ill.] 86. Nativity. Fresco on the south wall. Detail |
| Theophanes the Greek. Frescoes of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, Novgorod. 1378 | |||
The only monumental work of Theophanes that has survived on Russian soil is the frescoes of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyin Street in Novgorod. This church was built With. 179
With. 180¦ in 1374 36 and painted four years later "at the behest" of the boyar Vasily Danilovich and the inhabitants of Ilyina street 37. The painting of the Church of the Savior has come down to us in a relatively good, but, unfortunately, fragmentary form. In the apse, fragments of the hierarchical rite and the Eucharist have survived, on the southern altar pillar - a part of the figure of the Mother of God from the scene of the Annunciation, on the vaults and adjoining walls - fragments of gospel scenes (Baptism, Nativity of Christ, Candlemas, Christ's Sermon to the Apostles), on the eastern wall - the Descent of St. Spirit, on the walls and arches - half-erased remains of figures and half-figures of saints, in the dome - Pantocrator, four archangels and four seraphim, in the walls of the drum - the forefathers Adam, Abel, Noah, Seth, Melchizedek, Enoch, the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist. The most significant and best preserved frescoes adorn the northwestern corner chamber in the choir stalls (in one manuscript of the 14th century it is called the Trinity side-altar). An ornamental frieze of boards ran along the bottom of the chamber, and above were frontally placed figures of saints, a half-figure of the Sign with the image of the archangel Gabriel (on the south wall, above the entrance) and a throne with four saints approaching it on the east and adjacent walls; apparently, the composition Adoration of the Victim, popular in the 13th-14th centuries, was presented here: on the throne stood a paten with the naked Christ child lying on it. Above the second register stretched a narrow decorative frieze, consisting of diagonally lying bricks, written in compliance with all the rules of perspective. Above was the main and best preserved belt with five pillars, the Old Testament Trinity, medallions with John of the Ladder, Arseny and Akakiy and the figure of Macarius of Egypt.
36 I Novgorod chronicle under 1374 [Novgorod first chronicle of the senior and junior editions, p. 372].
37 III Novgorod Chronicle under 1378 [Novgorod Chronicles. (The so-called Novgorod second and Novgorod third chronicles), p. 243]. M. K. Karger (On the issue of the sources of annalistic records of the activities of the architect Peter and Theophan the Greek. - Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the USSR Academy of Sciences, XIV. M.–L., pp. 567–568) believes that the testimony of the late III Novgorod Chronicle is based on the lost old inscription, which was in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior.
We are deprived of the opportunity to restore in detail the decorative decoration of the church, since only minor fragments of it have survived. Undoubtedly frescoes below the base of the drum With. 180
With. 181¦ walked in five registers located one above the other, and the vaults and lunettes were decorated with gospel scenes; in the second register there were large medallions with half-figures of the prophets (remains of medallions have been preserved). Fragments of standing figures have come down to us from the third register. The fourth and fifth registers were occupied by images of various saints (remains of two figures of warriors were discovered on the western wall of the northern arm).
The fragments of frescoes that have come down to us do not allow us to compose full view about how these friezes were arranged. And here the painting of the chamber comes to the rescue, which makes it possible to restore, due to its relatively good preservation, the compositional techniques of Theophan the Greek. What is striking in the painting of the corner chamber is the extraordinary freedom of compositional constructions. Within the second belt, the frontally standing figures of saints are boldly compared with the half-figure of the Sign and the figures of saints turned towards the altar; within the upper belt, medallions alternate with full-length figures and with a multi-figure composition of the Trinity. This brings an alarming, restless rhythm to the painting. The static and monotonous arrangement of frontally placed figures, so beloved by the masters of the 12th century, is deliberately violated by Theophan for the sake of such an interpretation in which moments of an emotional order could receive the fullest expression. The figures painted by him seem to float out of the dim silver-blue backgrounds, they seem to be randomly scattered along the plane of the wall, their asymmetric placement has its own deep meaning, since this nervous - sometimes quickened, sometimes slowed down - rhythm contributes to creating the impression of dramatic tension. The deity, as it were, appears to the viewer in a “thunderstorm and storm”, ready to disappear at any moment, in order to then reappear, but in a different form and under different lighting.
[Col. ill.] 87. Stylite Simeon the Elder. Fresco in the choir chamber
[Col. ill.] 88. John of the Ladder. Fresco in the choir chamber
Saints of Theophan are distinguished by sharp characteristics. His Noah, Melchizedek, the pillars, Akakios, Macarius of Egypt, even his Pantokrator - all these are images of such an individual warehouse that you involuntarily perceive them as portraits, and, moreover, portraits of a purely realistic persuasion. But they also have one common feature- severity. With all their thoughts they are directed to God, for them “the world lies in evil”, they constantly struggle with the passions that overwhelm them. And their tragedy is that this struggle is given to them at a high price. They have already lost their naive faith in traditional dogmas; for them, the acquisition of faith is a matter of hard moral achievement; they need to climb high pillars in order to move away from the "evil world" and approach heaven in order to suppress their flesh and their sinful thoughts. Hence their passion, their inner pathos. Mighty and strong, wise and strong-willed, they know what evil is, and they know the means by which to fight it. However, they also knew the temptations of the world. From these deepest internal contradictions, their eternal discord is born. Too proud to tell their neighbor about it, they closed themselves in the armor of contemplation. And although on their formidable faces lies the seal of peace, internally everything bubbles and seethes in them.
In an age when heretical movements spilled in a wide stream across the territory of Western and Eastern Europe, the passionate, sharply subjective art of Theophan was to be a great success. When looking at his saints, many probably recalled their own experiences. Theophan succeeded with rare artistic persuasiveness in embodying in the saints those contradictory medieval ideals that were on the verge of disintegration and which were subjected to a radical reassessment in the coming decades. In his interpretation of the image of Saint Theophanes, he vividly reflected the "fermentation of the age." Thus, his work carried the seeds of the new, of what the future belonged to.
Theophanes the Greek emerged from the traditions of the early Paleologian artistic culture. From here he drew his brilliant painting technique. However, he brought it to such perfection that in his hands it acquired a new quality, marked by an individual seal. Feofan writes in a sharp, decisive, bold manner. He sculpts his figures with energetic strokes, with fabulous skill, overlaying juicy white, bluish, gray and red highlights over dark carnation, giving his faces extraordinary liveliness and that intensity of expression, With. 181
With. 182¦ which is usually so exciting when you look at his saints. These highlights are by no means always placed by Feofan on convex, protruding parts. Often you can find them on the most shaded parts of the face. Therefore, they cannot be compared with the trecentist light-and-shadow modeling, in which the distribution of light and shadow is subject to strict empirical regularity. The Feofanovsky highlight is a powerful tool for achieving the desired emotional accent, it is a subtly thought-out technique for enhancing the expression of the image. One has to be amazed at the incomparable confidence with which Feofan uses it. His glare always hits the right spot, without deviating even a hundredth of a millimeter, they always have their own deep inner logic. And it is no coincidence that Feofan avoids bright, colorful colors that could neutralize the impulsiveness of his highlights. Feofanovskaya color range is stingy and restrained. The master prefers muffled, sounding as if mute tones. He gives figures on silver-blue backgrounds, in faces he willingly uses a dense orange-brown tone that has a terracotta hue, Feofan paints robes in pale yellow, pearl white, silver-pink and silver-green tones. Feofan builds his palette on a tonal basis, combining all colors into a single silver scale. Only the master's favorite terracotta color breaks out of this range, which has extraordinary density and weight, due to which the highlights placed on top of it seem especially catchy and bright.
Theophan the Greek continued his work in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, where he painted three churches between 1395 and 1405 (the Nativity of the Virgin, the Archangel Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Annunciation). Unfortunately, none of these paintings have come down to us. In Novgorod, Feofan had a strong influence on local painters and headed a whole artistic With. 182
With. 183¦ direction, which can be conditionally called "Feofanovsky". Two murals are associated with this direction - the Church of Theodore Stratilates and the Church of the Assumption on the Volotovo Field, destroyed during the Second World War. With. 183
¦
Theophanes the Greek (circa 1340 - around 1410) - the great Byzantine and Russian icon painter, master of monumental fresco paintings and book graphics. Having a Greek origin, he received great recognition and fame on Russian soil. Considered the teacher of Andrei Rublev.
Features of the artist Theophan the Greek: Theophan the Greek's style is distinguished by temperament, dynamic freedom, elaboration of the individuality and psychologism of each image. The master works in the accepted canon, but at the same time very boldly reforms the canon. Distinguishes his creativity and the courage of the stroke, and the originality of color. The fresco paintings of Theophanes the Greek are characterized by the so-called "cursive writing", when the painting is almost monochrome, small details, the folds of clothing are not worked out, and the contours are outlined by swift lines. In his work, two poles of Byzantine spiritual culture are often embodied - the glorification of earthly beauty as a Divine creation and the striving for spiritual asceticism, which rejects everything external, beautiful.
In the frescoes, Theophanes used bleaching highlights to give greater spirituality and mysticism to the faces of the saints. At the same time, the overall color scheme is restrained and laconic (black, reddish-brown with shades, white predominate), again reminiscent of a monastic, ascetic renunciation of the diversity of phenomena and colors of the world. Feofan writes in the manner of a deliberate isograph, in which the icon painters relied on the originals, accurately reproducing the contents of legends and writings. This artistic style allows you to create a human, and, at the same time, sublime image.
Notable works by Theophanes the Greek:“Don Icon of the Mother of God”, “Assumption of the Virgin”, “Savior Almighty”, “Transfiguration of the Lord”, “Our Lady”, “Savior in strength”, “Trinity”, “Daniel the Stylite”.
Wizard Information Sources
Information about the life of Theophan the Greek, very few, is found in the Moscow and Novgorod chronicles. Of particular value is a letter written around 1413-1415 by the Moscow spiritual writer and artist Epiphany the Wise to the archimandrite of the Tver Spaso-Afanasiev Monastery and his friend Kirill Belozersky. Epiphany's message gives an idea of the principles of the master's work and is the only source that reveals some details of the life of Theophan the Greek. “When he depicted or painted all this, no one saw him ever look at the samples, as some of our icon painters do, who are constantly peering in bewilderment, looking back and forth, and not so much paint with paints, but look at the samples. He, however, seemed to be painting with his hands, while he himself constantly walks, talks with those who come and thinks with his mind about high and wise things, but with sensual eyes he sees rational kindness. No matter how many people talked with him, they could not help but marvel at his mind, his allegory “parables” and his cunning structure.. Theophan's ability to talk while working with all those who come, which Epiphanius admires so much, apparently made the same impression as 100 years later the genius of Leonardo da Vinci made.
Although Feofan won wide recognition, the dates of his life and death are always indicated only approximately. For sure, it is only known that in 1413 Theophan was no longer alive, as we learn from the letter of Epiphanius the Wise mentioned above.
In the annals, all three Moscow churches, in the painting of which Feofan participated, are noted: the Nativity of the Virgin, Arkhangelsk and Annunciation. Epiphanius also mentions them. If, after finishing work on the Cathedral of the Annunciation in 1405, the Greek would have managed to produce some other major work, then the annals, and even Epiphanius, would have noted this. Therefore, the date of death of the master is between 1405 and 1413.
Feofan died at an advanced age, for the first news about him - work in Novgorod - is dated 1378. He had to arrive in Russia not only as a mature artist, but also at a mature age (25-30 years old): in Byzantium, he had already managed to work on a number of churches. It turns out that the date of birth of Theophan the Greek should be sought in the range of 1335-1340, and he lived in Russia for about 40 years, where he created his most famous works.
The Faith and Beliefs of Theophanes the Greek
By the time he arrived in Rus', Theophan was already inspired by the mystical teaching known as hesychasm. The word "hesychasm" comes from the Greek hesychia - "calm", "silence", "detachment". This doctrine was formed back in the early Byzantine era, and it could only be found in monasteries. However, in the XIV century, the teaching goes beyond them, receives a theoretical justification and becomes accessible to the laity.Hesychasm taught that the Word of God is comprehended in silence. Refusal of verbosity, comprehension of the Word in its very depths and contemplative prayer will lead to the path of knowing God. But the main meaning of hesychasm lies not in the high prayer- it was comprehended through spiritual practice and consisted in absolute spiritual transformation, transformation. It is no coincidence that Feofan owns the icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The light of Tabor, which the apostles saw during the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ, had for hesychast practice great importance. This light, as the hesychasts said, is the inner light of transfiguration. "The kingdom of God is within man"- Theophanes the Greek vividly embodies this idea in the manner of his painting.
Feofan was not just a religious, but even a deeply convinced person of the importance of spiritual strength, faith and activity, especially in the country in which he lived. And the character of the great painter to match - tough, ascetic, reflective. The researchers note that Theophanes the Greek is inherent in the denial of optimism. He admits that a person is originally sinful, therefore, he can only wait with fear and humility for the decision of his fate on the Last Judgment. And these beliefs well reflect the techniques of his work.
Choice in favor of Rus'
Theophan comes from Byzantium, which is why he received the nickname "Greek". Before arriving in Rus', he had already painted forty stone churches in Constantinople, its suburbs - Chalcedon, Galata. It was in Galata, which at that time was a rich Genoese colony, that Feofan got the opportunity to get acquainted with Western culture. He saw her palazzos and churches, observed the unusual for the Byzantine efficiency and free morals of the inhabitants of Galata. None of Theophan's Byzantine works have survived. From Galata, the master moved first to Kaffa (now Feodosia), and then to Novgorod. In the Eastern Crimea, scientists still associate several surviving frescoes with him or with his school. We are talking, in particular, about the painting of the church of St. Stephen in Feodosia and a small fresco in the church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch.Feofan, like many of his contemporaries, could have gone to Italy, but perhaps he was not ready to part with Orthodox faith. Staying in Byzantium, where dry academicism was increasingly asserted in painting, did not correspond to his individual taste and aspirations. But in Rus', which was experiencing a period of upsurge associated with the beginning of an active struggle for the liberation and unification of Russian lands around Moscow, a wide field of activity opened up for him. The master went to his new homeland in the retinue of Metropolitan Cyprian. The choice of the artist was fully justified: in Muscovite Rus', the name of Theophan the Greek became the first among a galaxy of brilliant painters. He came to Rus' already a mature, established master, and not an ordinary artisan. Thanks to the work of Theophan, Russian artists were able to get acquainted with first-class examples of Byzantine art. His gift was truly original - originating in the Byzantine tradition, it was closely intertwined and developed in interaction with Russian culture.
Novgorod period
Theophanes the Greek settled in Novgorod in 1370. How did he get there, bypassing Moscow? We already know that he worked in Kaffa - the current Feodosia. Novgorodians had frequent trade relations with this city and could easily bring Feofan to them.The first work he did in Rus' was the painting of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street. This is the only work of the master that has survived to this day, which has documentary evidence dated 1378. This painting to this day remains the main source for judging the art of Theophan and his artistic style, which allows for a comparative analysis to determine his authorship in other works. The painting of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior was carried out by Feofan by order of the boyar Vasily Danilovich and the townspeople and was completed in one summer. Only fragments of the original monumental ensemble of frescoes have survived to this day, but even from them one can judge the powerful creative talent of the Byzantine icon painter.
The most grandiose image among the murals of the temple is in the altar dome: it is Christ the Almighty (Pantocrator) surrounded by four seraphim. In the drum (the base of the dome) are the forefathers Abel, Adam, Noah, Seth, Enoch, the prophets Elijah and John the Baptist; in the cell are theologians and stylites. The best preserved frescoes of the Trinity Limit ("Trinity", "Adoration of the Sacrifice", "Our Lady").
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is one of the most famous and valuable historical monuments of Novgorod. The works of Theophanes the Greek located there influenced the work of a number of painters and gave rise to followers. For example, in the famous icon "Fatherland" (XIV century) there are seraphim copied from the frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Ilyin, in several works of the XV century there are parallels with Theophanes' "Trinity".
Theophan the Greek's talent manifested itself not only in original artistic techniques, but also in the versatility of genres. Together with his monumental works, his miniatures became examples to follow. "He was a deliberate isographer of books"- so this praise sounds from Epiphanius. Theophan's influence can be seen in the design of such manuscripts as the Psalter of Ivan the Terrible (last decade of the 14th century) and Pogodinsky Prologue (second half of the 14th century).
Next stage life path the master generates only the assumptions of the researchers. There is information that he lived in Nizhny Novgorod, Serpukhov, Kolomna. The works of this period have not survived to this day.
Moscow period
Theophanes moved to Moscow around 1390. By this time, his own school was already taking shape, students and followers appeared. Together with them, Feofan starts painting a number of Moscow churches. With the active participation of the famous Moscow icon painter Simeon Cherny in 1395, Feofan painted the walls of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the chapel of St. Lazarus in the Kremlin. Alas, this church has not been preserved, and the Feofanovsky frescoes in the limit of St. Lazarus were knocked down and re-plastered.Four years later, Theophan the Greek, together with his students, began to decorate the Archangel Cathedral, the original painting of which was also lost.
The third and last major Moscow work of Feofan is painting Church of the Annunciation in the Kremlin. Here he works together with the elder Prokhor from Gorodets and Andrei Rublev, leading all the work. The event is downright historical, because two titans of medieval Russian painting met, expressing the spirit of the era with their art. Feofan - in dramatic, mournful tones, Rublev - in harmonious, bright, embodied the dream of peace and harmony. In the Annunciation Church, Feofan owns the compositions "Apocalypse" and "The Root of Jesse". By tradition, he is also credited with the authorship of the icons of the Deesis tier from the Annunciation iconostasis, while Andrei Rublev worked on icons depicting holidays. However, the iconostasis not only retained the overall design and harmonious composition, but also became a unique phenomenon. It was the first iconostasis in Russia depicting saints in full growth, and Feofan Grek and Andrei Rublev became the creators of the classical form of the Russian iconostasis. And, if the original painting of the temple itself did not reach us, then this iconostasis is still preserved.
Theophan the Greek can be considered the creator of a new image of "Tenderness". The icon “Our Lady of the Don” (a modification of “Tenderness”, another name is “Joy of all joys”), which was revered on the altarpiece of the Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna, is considered by researchers to be the prototype. The icon itself is two-sided - on the reverse side is depicted the Assumption of the Mother of God. The Dormition Cathedral in Kolomna was built on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, and later, after the victory and awarding the nickname Donskoy to Prince Dmitry Ioannovich, the church and the icon “Our Lady of Tenderness” also began to be called Donskoy. Ivan the Terrible highly honored this icon, took it with him on the Kazan campaign, and in 1591 it was taken out during the battle with Kazy Giray. When the battle ended with the victory of the Russians, "Our Lady of the Don" was recognized as miraculous. The glorified image was transferred to the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The icon has not been forgotten even today. In the 20th century, during the German offensive, on the orders of I.V. Stalin, she flew three times in an airplane over Moscow. Now this masterpiece is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery.
In Moscow, Feofan, as well as in Novgorod, probably worked on book graphics. According to the characteristic sharp lines and color, it is believed that the design of the Gospel of the boyar Fyodor Koshka, with its ornamental decorations, headbands and zoomorphic initials, also belongs to Feofan. Regarding another famous manuscript, the Khitrovo Gospel, they say that the work was most likely done by one of Feofan's followers, possibly Andrei Rublev.
School of Theophan the Greek
For almost half a century, Theophanes the Greek lived in Russia and wrote his most famous works for her. If all of them were preserved, then Feofan's legacy would be quite large. Of course, he did not work alone, but formed an entire school. Theophanes the Greek willingly passed on his knowledge, experience, and he had no shortage of students.Based on the letter of Epiphanius the Wise, we can confidently assume that the master knew how to easily win over interlocutors, was open, benevolent and good-natured. In addition, "Theophanes the Iconic Gregin the Philosopher" enjoyed great prestige as an artist-thinker. The greatest of his students was Andrey Rublev. When painting the Annunciation Cathedral, he acted as an assistant, not a student. However, the technical similarity of their works, especially the use of "stuffed cabbage" - a blue paint of an unusually bright tone, indicates that Rublev was for some time a student of Feofan. Such an intense blue color cannot be obtained from the usual icon palette. Feofan can see it on the board of Our Lady of the Don. After her, this color is nowhere else to be found, with the exception of Rublev's Trinity, which confirms the closeness of their work and the exceptional role of Feofan in the development of medieval Russian painting. And in the history of Russia itself, this Byzantine remained as outstanding a personality as he was mysterious. The great icon painter Theophanes the Greek (circa 1337 - after 1405)
"The glorious sage, the zealously cunning philosopher ... deliberately isographed books and among icon painters
tsev, an excellent painter,
- this is how the talented writer characterizes Theophan the Greek,
contemporary, monk Epiphanius the Wise.
The great painter of the Russian Middle Ages Feofan was from Byzantium, which is why he received the nickname of the Greek. The most probable date of birth of the artist is the 30s of the XIV century.
Saved by the Almighty. Painting on the dome of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street in Veliky Novgorod. Theophanes the Greek. 1378
To Rus'Feofanarrives at the age of 35-40 years. By this time he had painted forty stoneshen churches in Constantinople, Chalcedon and Galata. From Byzantium, the master moved torichthat timeGenoese colonyKafu (Feodosia)and from there to Novgorod.
In Rus', which was experiencing a period of upsurge associated with the beginning of an active
struggle for the liberation and unification of the Russian lands around Moscow, Feofan found fertile ground for the development of a powerful creative gift. His deeply original art, coming from Byzantine traditions, develops in close interaction with Russian culture.
Stylite Simeon the Elder. Fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration, Novgorod.
The first work done by Theophanes the Greek in Rus' is the frescoes of one of the remarkable churches of Novgorod the Great - the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street, built in 1374. He worked on the frescoes of this church in the summer of 1378 by order of the boyar Vasily Danilovich and the townspeople from Ilyina Street.
frescoes sokh
partially injured. in the domePantocrator (Judge Christ) is depicted, surrounded by four seraphim. In the piers there are figures of the forefathers: Adam, Abel, Noah, Sir, Melchizedek, Enoch, the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist, and in the chamber - the personal chapel of the customer - five pillars, "Trinity", medallions with images of John of the Ladder, Agathon, Akakiy and figures Macarius.
View of the southern wall with the image of the three pillars
Each ofSt. Theophanes the Greek gives a deeply individual complex psychological characteristic. At the same time, the mighty wrathful Pantocrator, and the wise majestic Noah, and the gloomy Adam, and the formidable prophet Elijah, and the self-deepened pillars have something about
bshher - these are people of a mighty spirit, steadfast character, people tormented by contradictionsyami, behind the external calmness of which lies a fierce struggle with the passions that overwhelm a person.
Old Testament Trinity. Fragment of a fresco in the Church of the Transfiguration
Even in the composition of "Trinity" there is no peace. There is no youthful softness in the images of angels. Their beautiful faces are full of severe detachment. The figure of the central angel is especially expressive. External immobility, static even moreemphasize internal tension. The outstretched wings, as it were, overshadow the other two angels, uniting the composition as a whole, giving it a special strict completeness and monumentality.
The program tells about the work of the great Russian icon painter Theophan the Greek and especially about his icon "Assumption", in which the artist decisively transformed the icon-painting canon. This icon is two-sided - on one side is written the plot of the Assumption Mother of God, and on the other - the image of the Mother of God with the infant Christ. This icon, belonging to the "Tenderness" type, receivedname "Our Lady of Tenderness of the Don"
Assumption of God 
mother, XIV century
In arrAzakh Feofan - great power emotional impact, they soundtragic pathos. Acute drama is also present in the most picturesque language of the master. Feofan's writing style is sharp, impetuous, temperamental. First of all, he is a painter and sculpts figures with energetic, bold strokes, superimposing bright highlights, which gives faces a quivering, emphasizes the intensity of expression. The color scheme, as a rule, is laconic, restrained, the color is saturated, weighty, and brittle sharp lines, the complex rhythm of compositional construction stillmore enhance the overall expressiveness of the images. The murals of Theophanes the Greek are created on the basis of knowledge of life, human psychology. They have a deep filosophic meaning, a penetrating mind and a passionate temperament are felt, and
second.
Go transformationunderneath, 1403
It is no coincidence that contemporaries were struck by the originality of the thinking of the great painter, the free flight of his creative imagination. “When he depicted or painted all this, no one saw him ever look at the samples, as some of our icon painters do, who in bewilderment constantly peer at them, looking back and forth, and not so much paint with paints as they look He, it seemed, paints with his hands, while he himself constantly walks, talks with those who come and thinks over the lofty and wise with his mind, but with sensual eyes he sees rational kindness.
The frescoes of the Transfiguration of the Savior are a valuable monument of the monumental art of Novgorod, they
iyali on the work of many painters. The murals of the churches of Fyodor Stratil are closest to them.that and the Assumption on the Volotovo field, probably made by the disciples of Theophan.
Archangel Michael. The cycle of details of the icons of the Deesis tier of the iconostasis
Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. 1405
In Novgorod Theophanes the Greek, apparentlylived for a long time, then worked for some time in Nizhny Novgorod, then came to Moscow. More information about this period of the master's work has been preserved. Probably, Feofan had his own workshop and carried out orders with the help of his students. Mentioned in chroniclesworkspan ten years. During the period from 1395 to 1405, the master painted three Kremlin churches: the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (1395), the Archangel Cathedral (1399), the Cathedral of the Annunciation (1405) , and in addition, fulfilled some ordersbasics: frescoes of the tower of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich and the palace of Prince Vladimir Andreevich the Brave (cousin of Dmitry Donskoy).Of all the works, only the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kremlin, created in collaboration with Andrei Rublev and "Elder Prokhor from Gorodets", has survived.
Rublev worked on icons depicting holidays. Theophanes the Greek owns most of the icons of the deesis series: "Savior", "Our Lady", "John the Baptist", "Archangel Gabriel", "Apostle Paul", "John Chrysostom", "Basil the Great".
However, the iconostasis has a common design, a strictly harmonic composition connected by a single rhythm. In the center is a formidable judge - the Savior, seated on a throne; from both sides, saints approach him, who pray to Christ for sinful humanity. As before, the saints of Theophan are powerful and each is individual in his appearance. But still, new qualities appeared in their images: they are more restrained, stately. More warmth in the image of the Mother of God, gentleness in the Archangel Gabriel, calmness in the wise Apostle Paul.
Archangel Gabriel. 1405
The icons are exceptionally monumental. The figures stand out in a clear silhouette against a radiant gold background, laconic, generalized decorative colors sound tense: the snow-white tunic of Christ, the velvety blue maforium of the Mother of God, the green clothes of John. And although Feofan retains the picturesque manner of his paintings in icons, the line becomes clearer, simpler, more restrained.
Two great masters met in the work on the decoration of the Cathedral of the Annunciation ancient Rus', who in their own way expressed in art an era full of dramatic clashes. Feofan - in tragic, titanic images, Rublev - in harmoniously bright, who embodied the dream of peace and harmony between people. These two masters were the creators of the classical form of the Russian iconostasis.
Mother of God. 1405
The work in the cathedral was completed in one year. It is not known how the fate of Theophan the Greek developed in the future, what were his subsequent works. Scholars suggest that Feofan worked as a miniaturist. Some of them believe that the miniatures of two famous handwritten monuments of ancient Rus' - the Gospel of the Cat and the Gospel of Khitrovo - were made in the workshop of Feofan, perhaps according to his plan. Where did the master spend last years life is unknown. He probably died between 1405 and 1415, since from the letter of Epiphanius the Wise it becomes known that in 1415 the great painter was no longer alive.
The Byzantine master found a second home in Rus'. His passionate, inspired art was in tune with the attitude of the Russian people, it had a fruitful influence on contemporary Feofan and subsequent generations of Russian artists.
hrono.ru ›Biographical index ›Theophan the Greek
Why did Theophanes the Greek leave Byzantium? What did he find in Rus'? In Rus', the widest field of activity opened up for him, which he could no longer find in the rapidly impoverished Byzantium. And there is reason to believe that Theophan did not emigrate from Constantinople by chance. He fled to Russia from the impending "academic" reaction, as it ran counter to his individual tastes and aspirations. On the other hand, Feofan's bold entry into the Novgorod school of painting was a life-giving shake-up for her. Breaking out of the Byzantine stagnation, the genius of Theophan awakened in Russian painting the will to emancipate, to freely reveal their own dynamism, their own temperament. The ascetic severity of his images could not take root on Russian soil, but their psychological versatility met the desire of Novgorod artists to convey the inner world of a person, and the picturesqueness of Feofanov's compositions opened up new horizons for their inspired skill.
Thus, the transition of Theophanes the Greek from Byzantium to Rus' has a deep symbolic meaning. It is, as it were, a relay race of art, the transfer of its bright torch from the ossifying old hands into the hands of the young and strong.
