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The Byzantine Frescoes in the Church of the Taxiarhes near Marcopoulo (pl. 105-115)

Articles

• Άσπρα-Βαρδαβάκη, Μαρία
• ΑΣΠΡΑ-ΒΑΡΔΑΒΑΚΗ, Μαίρη

The Taxiarches near Marcopoulo in Attica, a small cruciform church,provided with a dome, preserves a fragmentary decoration of Byzantinefrescoes in the Sanctuary, in the dome and on the northern part of the westarm of the cross.The painted decoration in the Sanctuary consists of a depiction of the,Virgin Kyriotissa between two worshipping angels in the conch, the Melismosflanked by four officiating bishops (SS. Nicholas, John Chrysostom, Basiland Gregory of Nyssa), below, and of a few remnants of the Ascension on thebarrel vault. The only other scene of the Dodecaorton preserved is the Descent into Hell in the western vault, on the left. The best preserved decorationin the church is in the dome. This includes the Pantocrator in bust, surroundedby eight full-length prophets and four knee-length portraits of saints ; thelatter are placed above the four windows of the dome. Starting from theeastern part, we see the prophets Micah and Joel, St. Cosmas, the prophetsElijah and Elisha, St. Theodote, th^ prophets Daniel and Malachi, St. Damian,the prophets Salomon and David, and St. Panteleimon.Among the iconographie peculiarities of the fresco decoration at theTaxiarches special mention may be made of the Pantocrator in the dome whodoes not follow the usual type known from Byzantine domed churches. Hisright hand does not overlap the contours of the figure but rises before hischest in blessing, in conformity with the type of the Antiphonetes. Moreover,the presence of four saints in the decoration of the dome constitutes a rareand retardataire feature, observed in very few examples of the Middle andLate Byzantine periods; this feature is often encountered in dome decorationsof the Early Christian churches.The frescoes of the Taxiarches may be distinguished, from the stylisticpoint of view, into two groups : a) the decoration of the apse of the Sanctuary ;b) the scenes of the Ascension and of the Descent into Hell as well as the decoration of the dome. The style of the first group is more archaising ascompared to that of the second group and reveals limited points of resemblance to monumental ensembles of the first half of the thirteenth century.However, certain features, especially the physiognomy of St. John Chrysostom, which lacks the spirituality of earlier saints' portraits, togetherwith the broadness of the figure of St. Basil, may point to a dating into thelatter part of the thirteenth century. As far as the frescoes of the secondgroup are concerned, there are more clear indications for their dating towards the end of the thirteenth century. For example, the rendering of thefaces of Elijah and Daniel is close to that of St. Cosmas in the church of St.George at Couneni, Crete (1284) and of the archangel Gabriel in the churchof the Metamorphosis at Pyrgi, Euboea (1296). Moreover, Christ of the Descent into Hell has a powerful neck and body as well as a broad face whichrecall the figure of Christ of the Entry into Jerusalem in the latter church.The Byzantine frescoes of the Taxiarches near Marcopoulo may beclassified among the works of a provincial and popular trend of Byzantineart in Greece, which is conventionally called monastic. However, it may beobserved that the painter of the second group of frescoes, in particular, mayhad seen and assimilated in his own way the mosaic decoration of Daphni.The rendering of the folds and spîcific other mannerisms concerning thedraperies give weight to this hypothesis.

• History and Archaeology
• Arts

• Arts and religion

• http://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/deltion/article/view/4538
• http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/dchae.857