Η εικόνα του Γεωργίου Κλόντζα στο Σεράγεβο και τα επάλληλα επίπεδα σημασιών της
Part of : Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας ; Vol.32, 1989, pages 9-32
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9-32
Parallel Title:
The Icon of Georgios Klontzas at Sarajevo and its Successive Levels of Meaning
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Articles
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At the 5th symposium held by the Christian Archaeological Society (Thessaloniki 1985), and subsequently inthe XII volume of the Deltion of the Society, PanayotisVocotopoulos presented a very interesting icon from theOld Orthodox Church in Sarajevo. On the icon attributed by him to the Cretan painter Georgios Klontzas, isrepresented a highly original subject. The unusually didactic nature of the work, and the variety of meanings itconveys, both directly and indirectly, supplied the stimulus for the attempt to understand it in the presentarticle.The icon is divided into three unequal registers. The oneat the top, showing the heavens, and the one at thebottom, depicting Hell, are reminiscent of scenes of theLast Judgement. The middle register has a representation of the earth at the present time, in the form of theinterior of a church. It contains an accurate rendering ofthe iconostasis, the priest at the Royal Doors, thepreacher in the pulpit, and the crowded congregation,divided into two groups. In front of them beggars areasking for charity from the faithful. Their inclusion, andthe large number of texts, make clear the content of thesermon: the faithful must show charity; if they are notprepared to do so, then when the Day of Judgementarrives they will find themselves in Hell, which is depicted with great immediacy below their feet. Most of theelucidatory texts are taken from the Homily of Basil theGreat on Psalm 28, one verse of which is inscribed onthe scroll held by David in the bottom left corner of theicon. According to Basil, the Psalm refers to the LastJudgement, and the best way for the faithful to preparefor the hour of Judgement is through Good Works.However, this overemphasis on charity reflects the ideasof the Counter-reformation, when the Catholic churchwithdrew Good Works from the Christian tradition, inorder to use them as a weapon in its struggle with theReformation, which condemned mendicancy. The representation of the preaching in the main register of theicon attests to an affinity with Counter-reformation too.The painter, and presumably also the commissioner ofthe icon seem to have been familiar with the decisions ofthe Council of Trent; this is clear from the icon byKlontzas in Copenhagen (Fig. 6) depicting the SeventhEcumenical Council, which is apparently based on aseries of engravings depicting the Italian Council. Thepresent icon, painted in the golden age of the sermon,uses a rhetoric similar to that of the church as an expressive means. The use of a mixed perspective system, withgeometric and reversed perspective, underlines themeanings. The result is a moralizing religious paintingthat has lost some of the basic characteristics of a culticon. The question thus arises as to how far there was inthis period a general tendency to transform the icon,both as a religious object and as a kind of painting.
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