Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Boyana Church

Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church, built at the beginning of the 19th century. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/42


Boyana Church owes its world fame to the frescoes from 1259. They form a second layer over the paintings from the earlier centuries. In all, there are 240 depictions on the walls. Its painter is still anonymous, but stands for the team that decorated the church and that was trained in the studios of the Turnove Art School. 

A total of 18 scenes in the narthex depict the Life of St. Nicholas. The painter here drew certain aspects of contemporary lifestyle. In The Miracle at Sea the ship and the sailor's hats recall the Venetian fleet. Also most interesting are the full-size paintings of the donors, Kaloyan and Dessilsava, and of the Bulgarian King Konstantin Assen Tih and Queen Irina. Kaloyan holds a model of the church and presents it to St. Nicholas. 

The architecture of Boyana Church dates from late 10th and early 11th century. It's the eastern part of the current building, which also sees additions from mid-13th century and mid-19th century. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/boyanachurch.html


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