Page 90 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

As for the frescoes, alas, they are the instru- imposed in advance without any person-
ment of worship, that is to say, they must not al inspiration, without variety, mechanical-
be beautiful but useful, and they have been ly, blindly following the precepts of the an-
savagely restored. There, on the walls, where cients of implacable usage. I realised while
the incense has extinguished the colours observing a monk who was brushing on an
and blurred the design, it is barely visible, but enormous canvas Saint George Taxiarch, ar-
still beautiful. Here, in the narthex, it’s fresh- moured and armed with a spear. It was sim-
14
12
ly painted, shiny, hideous. [Blot 1984, 74] ply abominable. [Feuillet 1900, 667]
This shift in perception may suggest a trans- This critique underscores a broader dis-
formation in the conceptualization of aesthet- course concerning the evolution of artistic val-
ics and beauty, akin to the historical analysis of- ues and the integrity of tradition within the con-
90 fered by Umberto Eco in History of Beauty (Eco text of Byzantine iconography.
Over half a century after the observations
2004). Eco’s work actually shows us an evolu-
tion of mentalities in terms of defining beauty made by Feuillet, Jean Décarreaux (1899–1988),
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 2 / volume 12 (2024), number 2
throughout the ages. This is how we could con- an art historian attuned to the nuances of Byz-
sider that the part of ‘naivety’ in the techniques antine art, drew attention to the frescoes of Cre-
of the recasting of the murals described by Blot tan style located within the Saint George Chapel
would remain completely acceptable today. of the Saint Paul monastery, advocating for their
However, at the onset of the 20th century, preservation against the detrimental effects of
the artist Maurice Feuillet (1873–1968) distin- humidity (Décarreaux 1956, 118).
guished between the artistic merits of different At the turn of the 20th century, as noted by
periods. He praised the ‘superb paintings dating Feuillet, and again in the 1980s with the work
from the 12th century, of remarkable expression, of Blot, there existed a prevailing sentiment that
stunning works of the master Manuel Panselin- post-Byzantine painting was irrevocably mar-
ginalized. However, the same frescoes from the
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os’ (Feuillet 1900, 666) while simultaneously Lavra monastery, which had been subjected to
critiquing the post-Byzantine works as a signif- Blot’s critical assessment three decades earlier,
icant decline in the Athonite pictorial tradition. underwent a re-evaluation by French photogra-
At present, nothing like this. The tradi- pher Ferrante Ferranti (born in 1960). Ferran-
tions of Manuel Panselinos and Dionysi- ti emphasized the didactic nature of these fres-
us of Agrapha seem irretrievably lost. The coes, specifically interrogating the portrayal of
painters of Athos are nothing more than the celestial Jerusalem as envisioned by the Or-
workers carrying out their work as quickly thodox tradition. He described a representation
as possible and flooding the Panaghias pen- of a hill situated ‘between the throne of Glory
insula with Greek saints with stiff gestures, where God the Father sits and the ruins of a city,
fixed gaze, archaic physiognomy, always the 14 ‘A l’heure actuelle, rien de semblable. Les traditions de Ma-
same. Placed under the despotism of the nuel Pansêlinos et de Denys d’Agrapha semblent irrémédi-
ablement perdues. Les peintres de l’Athos de ne sont plus
Byzantine canons, they carry out their task que des ouvriers exécutant leur travail le plus rapidement
possible et inondant la presqu’île de Panaghias, de saints
12 ‘Quant aux fresques, hélas, elles sont instrument du culte, grecs aux gestes roides, au regard fixe, à la physionomie ar-
c’est-à- dire qu’elles doivent non être belles mais servir, et chaïque, toujours les mêmes. Placés sous le despotisme des
qu’on les a sauvagement restaurées. Là-bas, sur les murs canons byzantins, ils font leur tâche imposée d’avance sans
où l’encens a éteint les couleurs et brouille le dessin, c’est aucune inspiration personnelle, sans variété, machinale-
à peine visible, mais beau encore. Ici, dans le narthex, c’est ment, suivant aveuglément les préceptes des anciens d’un
frais, brillant, hideux.’ usage implacable. Je me rendais compte en observant un
13 ‘Les ‘peintures superbes datant du XIIe siècle, d’une ex- moine qui brossait sur une toile énorme saint Georges Tax-
pression remarquable, œuvres très belles du maître Manuel iarque, cuirassé et armé de la lance. C’était tout simple-
Pansélinos.’ ment abominable.’