327-342

Observations on 14th and 15th century painting in the Dodecanese : hesychasm and the wall-paintings in the church of Ayios Nikolaos at Cheili on Tilos

• Κατσιώτη, Αγγελική

The church of Ayios Nikolaos at Cheili on Tilos, which is of small dimensions, is lavishly decorated with wall-paintings in a poor state of preservation. The iconographie programme is developed in three zones, the lowest adorned with full-length figures of military saints, the middle with half-length saints, and the barrel-vault with scenes from the gospels (Annunciation, Nativity, Presentation at the Temple, Baptism, Transfiguration and Entry into Jerusalem). On the semidome of the apse can be distinguished part of the Deesis, on the barrel-vault of the apse a Father of the Church, and on the front of the apse the Mandelion. Decorative motifs are confined to the key of the barrel-vault and the front of the apse. Because of the limited space available, only a few scenes are included from the gospel cycle. The painter was also obliged to restrict the number of scenes, to simplify them and to reduce to a minimum the number of figures depicted in them. His interest wa s concentrated on the choice of saints, in which the order of monks and hermits is the main group depicted, possibly at the suggestion of the donor. The figures include Saints Ephraim, Anthony, Euthymius, Arsenius, Theodore Studite, Paul of Thebes, John of Latros, and Christodoulos, amongst whom are included Damian and five figures that are now destroyed.The distinctive feature of the painting under examination here lies in the technique used, which dramatises the content. The palette is austere and limited. The facial features are rendered with swift, irregular, broad brushstrokes of white paint on the preparation. A similarly simplified treatment is given to the arms, too, which are freely and concisely modelled with no attempt to indicate the anatomical details. The drapery is worked with thick white paint applied in large surfaces. Generally speaking, white paint also covers large expanses of the exposed parts of the body, creating a sense of plasticity through contrasts between lit and shadowed areas. This troubled form of lighting allows the painter to avoid excess in his rendering of movement and to select restrained poses. This technique has a certain spontaneity, but presupposes an accurate eye, a practised hand, and a personal vision.Works by the same painter are to be found in two more monuments on the neighbouring island of Kos: Zoodochos Pigi at Monagri (second layer) and the Panayia Kyparissiotissa near Zia, in the province of Asphendiou. The hasty, yet skilful lines of this painting suggest a model and a style akin to the wall- paintings at Ivanovo and those by Theophanes the Greek, though the simple, dry style of the Tilos paintings is inferior.The inclusion in this limited iconographie programme of eight (and possibly a total of thirteen) leading representatives of eastern monasticism in the middle zone of the church on Tilos is an element not otherwise found in the art of the region and might be interpreted in the context of the Hesychast tra dition. The depiction of St Christodoulos, indeed, is rare at this period, and that of St John of Latros is an unicum.My conclusions are as follows. About 1400, a Dodecanesian painter, probably from Kos, who had already undertaken the decoration of two other churches in the region of Asphendiou (or was to do so later), was invited by a Tilian landowner to paint his own private church. The iconographie programme of the tiny church, with its rows of monks in the middle zone, seems to have been influenced by Hesychast views. Since the iconographie programmes of the other two churches decorated by the painter are not known, it is not clear whether these views reflect those of the commissioner or of the artist. The painting has an expressive quality and a sensitivity that set it apart from other contemporary wall-paintings. The level of the painter’s artistic training was adapted with ease to the small size of the church. This distinctive stylistic idiom - unique in the Dodecanese and also in Crete, as far as I can tell - links the church on Tilos, albeit indirectly, with artistic currents in the capital, and accordingly the possible ways in which this style might have penetrated the region are also examined. In any event, it should be stressed that the isolation of Tilos is not reflected in the level of painting on the island since, in many cases, the influence of the great art of the period can be detected. Many of the monuments in the region are of special interest, and await scholars ready to devote attention over their history.

• History and Archaeology
• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Αρχαιολογία
• Archaeology and art
• Architecture and religion
• Archaeology and religion
• Decorative arts

Θα ήθελα να εκφράσω τις ευχαριστίες μου στη διευθύντρια της 4ης Εφορείας Μάνια Μιχαηλίδου για την άδεια μελέτης και δημοσίευσης της εκκλησίας. Ευχαριστώ ιδιαίτερα τον επίτιμο 'Εφορο Αρχαιοτήτων Ηλία Κόλλια για τις υποδείξεις και τις παρατηρήσεις του, όπως επίσης τον καθηγητή Ευθ. Τσιγαρίδα. Η μελέτη αυτή πολλά οφείλει επίσης στους συναδέλφους Θοδωρή Αρχοντόπουλο, Αγγελική Μητσάνη, Γιάννα Μπίθα και Κωνσταντία Κεφαλά, στους οποίους και την αφιερώνω. Οι φωτογραφίες με αριθ. 3,4,5,9 προέρχονται από το φωτογραφικό αρχείο του Κέντρου Έρευν ας της Βυζαντινής και Μεταβυζαντινής Τέχνης της Ακαδημίας Αθηνών., Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες