Frescoes of Dionysius in the Ferapontovsky Monastery (Vologda region). Ferapontov Monastery and unique frescoes of Dionysius Ferapontovo official museum

Frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery

Like all medieval art, ancient Russian art by its very nature is ensemble, monumental. Therefore, it loses more than the art of another era in the conditions of a museum exhibition. Individual works of icon painting, torn out from their natural environment, perceived from the wrong distance, in the wrong environment, under the wrong lighting, largely lose the power of their impact. In this sense, the painting of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery acquires special significance. This is a complete ensemble. And although not all of its elements have survived to this day - the external appearance of the cathedral has been changed, the iconostasis has been removed - the main core has nevertheless been preserved. The most important quality of this ensemble has been preserved: painting, inextricably linked with architecture, existing in a real architectural and spatial environment. The temple stands high on a hill above the lake, the western facade faces the road below, along the shore, leading to Kirillov. The main gate of the monastery leads to the same road. And although it itself has changed over the centuries, this aspect has always been the main one in the perception of the temple. At the beginning of the 16th century, when its facade was not distorted by alterations, the portal painting of Dionysius was visible from afar. Now it is difficult to say from what distance the painting was visible, but, of course, it was designed for distant perception, especially since it began not from the ground itself, but from the level of the high porch that led to the door of the temple, raised to the basement. It is not difficult to imagine the joyful colors of the Dionysian portal against the backdrop of the monotonous northern landscape. The nature of the lake district is modest in color: gray-green grass and trees, silver-gray mirrors of lakes, wildflowers, yellow and white. Only the sky here can be unusually bright, especially in the evenings. Sometimes it blazes with all shades of red, from soft pink to dark purple, tints of gold, a multi-colored rainbow and even reflections of the northern lights. The frescoes of Dionysius, made almost entirely with local paints extracted from stones on the shore of the lake, reproduce not an earthly, but a heavenly landscape. Perhaps their “unearthly” flavor is due to the artist’s impressions of the northern sky, which was unusual for him. But the main thing, of course, is that Dionysius’s paintings depicted not the earthly world, but the heavenly world - therefore their colors had to be “mountainous”. The portal of the Nativity Cathedral, shining with colors, was an image of the gates leading “from this vain and fleeting poor life into this never-ending age”*.

The interior of a medieval temple was always, in one form or another, associated with the image of the other world, paradise. In different countries and at different periods, this image of paradise was presented in different ways, but it always appeared in color and light transformation. According to the views of the Middle Ages, light and color, or rather, a certain general, indivisible idea of color-light, radiant color or colored light, constituted the main quality of beauty, its divine essence. The interior of the Byzantine temple was transformed by mosaics, their brilliance associated with heavenly radiance. In the interior of the Gothic cathedral, stained glass windows played the role of mosaics. Their changing combustion in the huge darkened space of the cathedral also evoked associations with the heavenly Jerusalem.

In the architecture of Rus' of the pre-Mongol period, Byzantine figurative symbolism was preserved. In the chronicles of the 10th century, the church is called a garden, which was planted by the right hand of God*. Now it is difficult to determine how this image of paradise was interpreted in Russian church interiors of the 14th-15th centuries - their paintings and decorations were too incompletely preserved. But, of course, in them light and color impressions played a very important role. The light of lamps and candles, the shine of golden frames of icons, studded with precious stones, expensive shrouds embroidered with silk, gold, silver and pearls, brocade vestments, vessels and the smoke of censers created a special light-colored environment. As for painting, it seems that icons, with their intense colors and surface shine, formed a more powerful chord than frescoes, which were painted in a much more subdued palette. In any case, from the end of the 14th century, when the multi-tiered iconostasis was built, it focused attention on itself and performed the main semantic and decorative functions.

The question of the role of light in the interior of a medieval temple has not yet been sufficiently studied. There is no doubt that lighting, both artificial and natural, played a huge role in the figurative concept of the interior. Its symbolic meaning in the interior is preserved to some extent even in the Italian architecture of the Renaissance, especially in the second half of the 15th century, at a time when the ideas of the Neoplatonists were widespread. It can be argued a priori that in Russian temple architecture the symbolism of light played an important role. Obviously, in Russian churches the veneration of light was to a greater extent connected with its immediate source - the flame of a candle, the fire of a lamp. This could be explained partly by more severe climatic conditions, partly by the traditions of ancient, pre-Christian beliefs. The people of Ancient Rus' were stingy in expressing their artistic impressions, and yet it is significant that, admiring the beauty, lightness and multi-colored heavenly “signs,” they did not talk about lordship of their churches. Their imagination was struck first of all by the church decoration: “honest crosses and wonderful icons... decorated with gold and silver and pearls and precious stones; and shrouds embroidered with gold and seeded with pearls...”*. It is difficult for us to imagine what the overall interior of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir looked like in natural light. Now it seems dark, apparently, it was just as dark in the 15th century and was designed mainly for the light of candles and lamps. This uneven light, this twilight created a special state of concentration, self-absorption. In any case, Rublev’s painting is designed for attentive, consistent contemplation, detachment from everything external, and self-absorption. The image of the otherworldly, eternal world is connected in this painting with the idea of the last fair judgment, with deep internal rebirth and purification. The interior of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery is, perhaps, the first example known to us in Rus' of the figurative use of light as such, in its intangible essence. Light appears in this work both as a symbolic and aesthetic category. Apparently, there is some kind of internal connection between such an understanding and the very daytime nature of Dionysius’ coloring, the abundance of luminous colors in his painting - white, blue, not only symbolizing, but also seemingly depicting light. Perhaps it is right to see here echoes of those aesthetic categories that Dionysius came into contact with in Moscow, working in the Assumption Cathedral, built by the Italian Fioravanti.

The frescoes of Dionysius in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary represent the only mural painting by the master that has survived to this day.

At the very beginning of the 16th century, a team of painters appeared within the walls of the Ferapontov Monastery, painting the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. For more than four hundred years, the stone walls patiently preserved the colors of the frescoes, inscriptions and the memory of the masters who created them. One of them is Dionysius, whose name was read by scientists in the early 20th century. Due to its geographical location, the cathedral was a wayside temple. At a time when, with the fall of Constantinople, a new trade route to the Russian state was being established, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the Ferapontov Monastery was precisely on this great route, passing through the White Sea along Onega and Sheksna. It was the first stone cathedral on this route and was quite suitable for fresco painting. Kargopol, located on the same Onega, was still a completely logged city, and there were no stone churches yet in the Solovetsky Monastery. The team of masters and apprentices completed all the work assigned to them in just over two years.

The paintings, numbering almost 300 scenes and individual characters, occupy almost all surfaces of the walls, vaults, pillars (except for the eastern ones - behind the iconostasis and the altar partition), window and door slopes, and outside - the central part of the western wall above the doorway and the lower part of the southern wall over the burial place of the Monk Martinian.

The iconography of the frescoes of the Ferapont Cathedral in many ways has no precedent in the wall paintings of Russian churches. Never before, for example, has there been an image of John the Baptist on the altar, there have been no images of Ecumenical Councils and much more. Some believe that the akathist to the Mother of God also appeared for the first time in Ferapontovo. In Greek and South Slavic churches, the entire life of Mary was usually depicted, starting from the “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” and ending with her “Assumption.” Dionysius creates a painting glorifying Mary, a painting similar to the chants that were composed in her honor. Of course, Dionysius did not arbitrarily introduce into the frescoes many subjects that had not been depicted before him. To take such a bold step, he had to see the previous paintings, and not just hear about them, and he could only see them on Athos. But Dionysius’s solution to many gospel stories also differs from those at Athos. At that time there were no strict canons, and Dionysius could take advantage of this circumstance. For example, he independently tried to comprehend some of the provisions of Christianity, in particular, about the life of the Mother of God. What was the main goal for previous painters became a secondary goal for Dionysius. The main task for him is the akathist to the Mother of God, her glorification, therefore the entire large cycle of paintings in the Nativity Church appears as a single hymn: “Rejoice!” The central asp depicts the Mother of God Hodegetria sitting on a throne with angels kneeling before her.

The frescoes created by Dionysius should be considered as an integral part of the architecture of the Nativity Cathedral itself. Its entire internal space - from the dome to the base - is filled with shining paintings. “The Marriage in Cana of Galilee,” for example, appears to him as a joyful feast. The cathedrals and towers that frame numerous painting scenes remind the viewer of the architectural monuments of Moscow and Vladimir.

According to many researchers, this image resembles the Pantocrator from the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, but this connection is felt purely externally - in the arrangement of the hands and the Gospel. The essence of Ferapont's Christ the Pantocrator is very different from Novgorod's. In Ferapontovo, Christ the Pantocrator does not have that formidable and unyielding will, like the Novgorod Pantocrator.

On the north side of the cathedral, the Virgin Mary sits on a throne, surrounded by archangels, and at the foot of the throne crowds of mortals are crowded, chanting the “Queen of Peace.” On the south side, hosts of singers glorify the Virgin Mary.

On the western side, instead of the “Assumption”, more usual for South Slavic churches, the composition of the “Last Judgment” is depicted, in which the Virgin Mary is glorified as the intercessor of the entire human race. In the eastern lunette of the temple, the Mother of God is depicted in a purely Russian, national spirit - as the patroness and defender of the Russian state. She stands with a “veil” in her hands against the backdrop of the walls of ancient Vladimir, which in those years was a symbol of the religious and political unity of Rus'. The Virgin Mary is no longer surrounded by singers or saints, but by Russian people. The cathedral was painted by Dionysius and his comrades not only inside, but partly also outside. On the western facade there is a well-preserved fresco that greeted those entering the temple and gave the right direction to his thoughts and feelings .

The painting is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and consists of three belts: the upper one is the Deesis, the middle one is the scenes of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the Caress of Mary by Joachim and Anna, the lower one is the archangels. To the right of the portal is Gabriel holding a scroll on which is written “The angel of the Lord will write the names of those entering the temple.”

The portal fresco is a kind of prelude to the painting of the cathedral, because the akathist to the Virgin Mary begins here. Before Dionysius, other artists interpreted the plot of “The Nativity of the Virgin Mary” as a purely family scene in the house of Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents. Dionysius also left genre details dictated by the very content of the painting, and at the same time, his frescoes differ sharply from the works of his predecessors. In the middle tier of the paintings, Dionysius placed not scenes from the life of Mary, but illustrations to the twenty-four songs of the akathist to the Mother of God. Here the artist was least bound by canons, and from under his brush came images that were absolutely original. He did not show the violent movements of the human soul; the artist is drawn to reflection, to an original interpretation of traditional gospel themes.

For example, Anna and the elderly Joachim, who learned that his wife was expecting a baby. Joachim in the fresco knows about the “immaculate” conception, he reverently bows before the newborn Mary, extending his hand to her and repeating the gesture usual for “immaculate” births. Anna, full of dignity and humble grace, sits on the bed, and the woman standing behind the bed not only does not help Anna get up, but does not even dare to touch the cover of the one who gave birth to the future mother of Christ. The woman to the right of the bed does not just hand Anna a bowl of food, but solemnly offers it. And this golden cup, receiving a special semantic meaning, becomes the center of the entire composition. Dionysius shows the viewer that what is before him is not the usual everyday vanity that accompanies the birth of a child, but the fulfillment of a sacred sacrament. The images of all the characters from the life of Mary are filled by Dionysius with extraordinary spiritual delicacy. Their movements are smooth, gestures are only outlined, but not completed, participants in many scenes only indicate touching, but do not touch each other. This applies, for example, to the scene "Mary's Bathing". The compositional center of this part of the fresco is the golden font. Women bathing a newborn do not dare to touch her, and the one who brought Anna a gift holds it carefully, like a vessel with incense.

Another distinctive feature of Dionysius’s frescoes is the softness of the colors and elegance. The images are dominated by white, sky blue, yellow, pink, cherry and light green tones. For the background, the icon painter used mainly bright blue color. The paints were presumably delivered to the artist from Moscow. The richest paintings in terms of color are the medallions under the drum and on the spring-loaded arches. When performing them, both pure colors and mixtures were used.

It must be said that the soft rounded contours of one form are repeated in another, all the figures are painted lightly and picturesquely, as if they were weightless and hovering above the ground. The frescoes of the cathedral are distinguished by their tenderness, muted and lightened colors, soft color transitions, they lack contrasts and sharp comparisons. In the vault of the southwestern pillar of the Nativity Cathedral there is a composition depicting Jesus Christ and the Moscow Metropolitans Peter and Alexei. Below them, near a pond, are a gray-haired old man, an elderly woman and two young men. Perhaps Dionysius depicted himself and his family here, because his two sons, Vladimir and Theodosius, worked with him in Ferapontovo.

The wall paintings of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary can confidently be called the pinnacle of Dionysius’s creativity.

The monastery buildings are perhaps the only ones in the Russian North that have retained all the characteristic features of their decor and interiors.

I have returned here more than once, and the impression from the monastery was like the first time...

Address: Vologda region, Kirillovsky district, Ferapontovo village.

Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity of the Virgin Monastery was founded at the turn of the 14th – 15th centuries, during the period of expansion of the political influence of the Moscow Grand Duchy, for about 400 years it was one of the prominent cultural and religious educational centers in the Belozersky region.

The history of the Ferapontov Monastery at some key points comes into contact with important historical events of the era of the formation of the Russian centralized state, and is closely connected with the main historical events that took place in Moscow in the 15th – 17th centuries: the capture and blinding of Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark, the establishment of the power of the first “sovereign of all Rus'” » Ivan III, the birth and reign of the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV, the formation of the Romanov dynasty, the exile of Patriarch Nikon.

Traditionally, the founding date of the Ferapont Monastery is taken to be 1398. At this time, Ferapont, an associate of St. Kirill of Belozersky, settled separately on a hill between two lakes, Borodaevsky and Paskim. A few years later, having obeyed the insistence of the Belozersk prince Andrei Dmitrievich, Ferapont went near Moscow, to Mozhaisk, and founded his second monastery - Luzhetsky.

Ferapontov Monastery becomes widely known thanks to the activities of the disciple of Cyril of Belozersky, Venerable Martinian, confessor of Vasily II, who was in 1447 - 1455. abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

In the second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries, the Ferapontov Monastery became a significant spiritual, cultural and ideological center of Belozerye, one of the famous Trans-Volga monasteries, whose elders had a serious influence on the politics of Moscow.

Along with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, it becomes a traditional place of worship and contributions of many representatives of the Russian feudal nobility (Andrei and Mikhail Mozhaisky, Vasily III, Ivan IV and others). From its walls at the turn of the 15th – 16th centuries. Prominent hierarchs of the Russian Church emerged who actively participated in the internal life of the country - Archbishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl Joasaph (Obolensky), Bishop of Perm and Vologda Philotheus, Bishop of Suzdal Ferapont.

At the same time, major church figures who fought for the priority of church power in the state (Metropolitan Spiridon-Sava, Patriarch Nikon) were exiled here. Book writers Martinian, Spiridon, Philotheus, Paisius, Matthew, Efrosyn, and icon painter Dionysius worked here.

The entire 16th century was the heyday of the monastery. This is evidenced by the surviving deposits and letters of grant from the secular and spiritual authorities, primarily Ivan IV. Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya, Ivan IV come to the monastery on pilgrimage. The deposit book of the monastery, begun in 1534, names among the contributors “princes Staritsky, Kubensky, Lykov, Belsky, Shuisky, Vorotynsky... Godunov, Sheremetev” and others. The rulers of Siberia, Rostov, Vologda, Belozersk, and Novgorod are also mentioned here.

With the discovery of the relics of St. Martinian and his subsequent canonization, attention to the monastery increases, contributing to the growth of deposits and income.

To the richest patrimony of Belozerye - the Ferapontov Monastery at the beginning of the 17th century. belonged to several villages, about 60 villages, 100 wastelands, more than 300 peasants.

In 1490, with the construction of the first stone church of Belozerye, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, by Rostov craftsmen, the formation of the stone ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery of the 15th - 17th centuries began.

In the 16th century In the monastery, the monumental Church of the Annunciation with a refectory, a state chamber, service buildings - a stone drying room, a guest chamber, a cook's chamber - are being built. Having recovered from the Lithuanian devastation, in the middle of the 17th century. the monastery erects gate churches on the Holy Gates, the Martinian Church, and a bell tower.

In 1798, the Ferapontov Monastery was abolished by decree of the Synod.

In the 19th century, during the parish period, the narrowed monastic territory was surrounded by a stone fence.

In 1904, the monastery was reopened as a convent and closed again in 1924.

Currently, the monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery house the Museum of Frescoes of Dionysius, which has the status of a historical, architectural and art museum-reserve. The museum, which arose at the beginning of the 20th century, protected the monuments with the help of only one guard throughout the 1930s-1960s. Since 1975, the formation of a modern museum began, which has turned into a research and educational center, disseminating knowledge about the unique monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery ensemble through various forms of museum work. At the end of 2000, the ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery with paintings by Dionysius was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The monastery buildings are perhaps the only ones in the Russian North that have retained all the characteristic features of their decor and interiors.

In 2002, the painting of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery, created by the great Russian icon painter Dionysius, his sons and craftsmen who were part of his artel, celebrated 500 years.

01. Gate churches of the Epiphany and St. Ferapont. 1650

In the center is a three-tiered, hipped bell tower (1680) of a very rare type with a square bell plan and a tetrahedral hipped roof. There are 17 bells hanging on the ringing tier. The tent contains a unique mechanism of the earliest surviving military clock in Russia from 1638.

On the right is the Church of St. Martinian. The porch was added in the middle of the 19th century. 1641
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Church of the Annunciation (right) with the refectory. 1530 - 1531.

According to historians, the church with the refectory was built with the contribution of Grand Duke Vasily III to commemorate the birth of the heir to the future Tsar Ivan IV, begged for in the Kirillov and Ferapontov monasteries.

In 1798, the Ferapontov Monastery was abolished by decree of the Synod.

In the 19th century, during the parish period, the narrowed monastic territory was surrounded by a stone fence. Bricks from ancient buildings were used in the construction of the fence.

04. Northern gate. Wow, it's windy today!

In 1904, the monastery was reopened as a convent and closed again in 1924.

05. Refectory, behind it is the Church of the Annunciation.

And now to the museum itself.

07. Frescoes, including those above the relics of Martinian Belozersky. Venerable Martinian of Belozersky is the abbot of the monastery. He contributed to the flourishing of his spirituality, introduced rewriting, and collecting books.

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10. In the church of St. Martinian. The tent church dates back to 1641.

11. Since 1838, the church has housed a two-tier iconostasis made by Vologda tradesman Nikolai Milavin. The carved royal doors did not preserve the figures of the Archangel Gabriel and Mary from the Annunciation scene. The inscription “Immortal Meal” speaks of the sacrament of transforming bread and wine into the Holy Gifts - the Flesh and Blood of Christ.

12. There is an entrance in the bell tower, we go through it and go up to the second floor. To the right is the Church of the Annunciation with frescoes of Dionysius, but first we will walk along the left corridor to the end, here is an exhibition of the museum of monastic life.

The interior of the Refectory Chamber with a central massive pillar and sail-shaped vaults resting on it is completely preserved from the middle of the 16th century.

13. Prisoner (XV century), shrine (XVI, XV I I century), phelonion (XV century) of St. Martinian

14. Reconstruction of the monastic cell according to the charter of Kirill Bezozersky
“In the cell, no one was allowed to have anything other than the most necessary things, they were not allowed to call anything their own, but, according to the word of the Apostle, everything was common... Even a piece of bread was not allowed to be in the cell, nor any drink. If anyone was thirsty, he went to the refectory and there, with blessing, he quenched his thirst. If anyone happened to enter the cell of a brother, he saw nothing more in it than icons, books and a vessel with water to wash his hands. So we remained free from all attachments, having one concern - to please God, to preserve humility and love for each other, and to work for common needs...
And everyone worked without laziness, but according to his strength; not as for people, but for God...”

Pachomius Logothetes. Life of Kirill Belozersky.

15. In the far corner there is a sample of a fraternal refectory.

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17. In the refectory, each novice sat in his place in accordance with the rank of seniority with meekness and silence, and no one could be heard, only the reader. They were given three meals each, except for fasting days, on which the monks either refused to eat at all or subsisted on bread and water.

18. Workplace of the Abbot.
At this table, letters and decrees sent to the monastery were read out, decisions made by the abbot and the cathedral elders were announced.

19. Ceremonial attire of priests.

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21. Place of the elder builder.

At the southern edge there was the place of the old builder. The scope of his responsibilities is not entirely clear. He took first place among the cathedral elders. Apparently, his main responsibility was the spiritual care of the brethren. In the last period of his life, Martinian was an old builder...

22. Restorers have done a great job to preserve the heritage of their predecessors for descendants.
Tools used by restorers.

In the main church of the former Ferapontov monastery, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, there are paintings created in 1502 by the famous Moscow artist Dionysius and preserved without renovation to this day.
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24. Miraculously preserved, the murals of Dionysius were unknown until 1898.

The icon painter Dionysius, famous for his icons and murals in Moscow and in the monasteries of the Moscow principality, was invited with his artel to paint the first stone cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery.

Inside, the cathedral is divided into three naves by four square pillars, on which are supported raised arches under the drum. Paintings containing almost 300 scenes and individual characters.
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27. Christ Pantocrator is represented in the dome of the cathedral, under him are the archangels and forefathers, in the sails are the evangelists, on the girth arches are saints in medallions,

28. Fresco in the drum - Christ the Pantocrator.

29. In the churches above the gates, all architectural elements have been completely preserved.

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32. Another remarkable collection of the Museum was formed from objects of peasant and urban economy and everyday life, and from the very beginning the Museum staff collected things originating from the Kirillovsky district, or more precisely, from the near and distant environs of Ferapontov.

33. Residents of many villages willingly donated objects from the 19th and 20th centuries that they had preserved to the Museum: icons, books, pottery, crosses, equipment for crosses, grindstones and millstones, scales and steelyards, glass and wooden dishes, spinning wheels and rolling pins, chests and boxes , antique fabrics, casual and festive clothing, old letters, photographs and documents and many other disused items.

34. This is how the ethnographic collection in the Museum was formed, giving a good idea of the peasant culture of the Belozersky region. Dozens of villages around Ferapontov have existed since the 15th and 16th centuries and, presumably, the peasant life of those ancient times was not much different from the life of the 19th or early 20th centuries, so the ethnographic collection of the Museum also has historical significance.

35. Ruffled, carded, spinning wheels and looms were covered with sacred (mainly solar) patterns, and the fabric woven on them had a light power that protected the human body from hostile influences.

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There is a light burning in the low light.
A young spinner is sitting by the window.
Young, beautiful, brown eyes,
A light brown braid extends over the shoulders.
(Russian folk song)

The spinning wheel accompanied the girl from birth to marriage. Spinning was usually done by girls. By the time they reached adulthood, they had fully mastered this skill and became skilled spinners, which, according to popular belief, predicted happy love and marriage.

In the museum of the Ferapont Monastery there is a pagan Slavic Siversk idol - a symbol of fertility and worship of the god Rod or Yaril. Dating back to the 4th-9th centuries, the height is about 1 meter. Found in the village of Siverovo, Sukhoverkhovsky village council, Kirillovsky district.
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At the exhibition you can see three types of looms: root machines, the hind legs of which and the ponnel were made from a single piece of wood, composite, assembled from separate parts, and mixed, that is, machines in which the root part of the tree was used for the ponel, but it was not associated with hind legs. The main decoration of the krosen were stuffings and eyelids covered with carvings. The museum's collection now includes more than 20 krosen. On such machines you can weave any patterned fabrics, the only limitation will be the width of the resulting fabric.

44. In the Vologda dialect: " Harness the crosna" - prepare a handloom for work.

A marvelous wonder in the Russian wilderness!

And the heavenly and earthly Dionysius,
Emerging from the united lands,
This wondrous wonder has been exalted
To a point unprecedented before...

Address: 161120, Vologda region, Kirillovsky district, village. Ferapontovo.

Strelnikova E.R.

CATHEDRAL OF THE Nativity OF THE VIRGIN

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was erected in 1490 on the site that was consecrated by the Monk Ferapont for a wooden church in 1408. The construction of stone churches in the North was unusual at that time. Even in the Cyril Monastery - the more famous and rich - only seven years later they were able to build a stone Assumption Cathedral. For the first time, brick construction began in the North in the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery on the island of Lake Kubenskoye. Next was the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery. Its decor and construction techniques indicate that the architects were most likely Rostov masters.

The type of the temple is traditional for Moscow architecture: cross-domed, four-pillar, cubic, three-apse. Under the pitched roof are hidden the zakomars and the drum of the unpreserved dome above the chapel of St. Nicholas of Myra. The cathedral had a belfry, the remains of which became part of the northern porch. The facades and the drum are decorated with brick patterns.

The temple was “signed” by the famous ancient Russian master Dionysius and his sons. Its authorship is confirmed by the autograph of the icon painter on the northern wall of the church. It states that the painting began on August 6, 7010 (1502), and was completed on September 8, for the temple holiday. “And the scribes Dionysius the iconographer and his children.”

Interior of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery. Photos of the early 20th century

Frescoes cover the entire internal surface of the temple with a total area of about 800 square meters, they are completely preserved. Only some fragments were lost due to the removal of windows and the reconstruction of the iconostasis. The frescoes of the cathedral made the Ferapontov Monastery world famous. This is the only monument in the country in which the frescoes of the early 16th century have survived in their original design almost in full. Renovations made in the middle of the 18th century affected mainly the paintings in poorer preservation.

Dionysius painted in mixed media - frescoes (on wet ground) and tempera. To make paints, as legend says, he partially used multi-colored minerals located in the vicinity of the Ferapontov Monastery in the form of placers.

The basic scheme of the paintings is traditional: the dome depicts the Lord Pantocrator with the archangels and forefathers, the evangelists are in the sails, the gospel scenes are in the vaults, the Last Judgment is on the western wall, warrior-martyrs and saints are on the pillars, below the ornamental shrouds are the seven Ecumenical Councils , in the altar - the Mother of God with the Child of God on the throne, in the altar - the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, in the deacon (aka the southern chapel) - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Conch of the southern aisle of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery.

GREAT AKATHIST

A special place among the paintings of the Ferapontov Monastery is occupied by “Akathist to the Mother of God” - a picturesque interpretation of a song of praise consisting of 25 songs. All the chants are reflected in Dionysius. The master placed the akathist scenes in the third tier of paintings along the entire perimeter of the cathedral. Dionysius created one of the most perfect embodiments of the Akathist in painting.

The cycle begins on the eastern pillars with four scenes of the Annunciation, conveying the first four songs of the Akathist. The scenes then move to the edges of the western pillars, facing the center of the temple (Kissing of Mary and Elizabeth, Joseph's Doubt, Adoration of the Shepherds, Journey of the Magi). The continuation of the theme of the Nativity of Christ moves to the southwestern vaults (“Return of the Magi”, “Flight into Egypt”), from the 16th song (kontakion of the 9th “Every angelic nature was amazed...”) on the southern wall, the scenes along the western edges of the pillars move to the northern wall (starting from kontakion 7 - “Candlemas”). The use of the surfaces of the pillars, and not just the southern and northern walls for the Akathist scenes, has no analogues either in the paintings of Russian churches or churches outside Russia. This arrangement is very important compositionally: the artist filled the entire temple with scenes of chants. They “sound” both along the walls, and in the center of the temple on the pillars, and on the vaults in the northern and southern corners of the cathedral.

Akathist to the Mother of God, ikos 3. “Kissing Elizabeth” (meeting of Mary and Elizabeth)

According to the content of the narrative parts, the Akathist songs of Dionysius are divided into two halves - those related to the gospel story (the first 12 songs) and those containing reasoning and doxologies (the next 12).

The akathist cycle is associated with the main paintings of the temple, dedicated to the glorification of the Mother of God, her Praise, which includes such compositions as the Intercession, the Cathedral of the Mother of God (“What shall we bring to Thee”) and “Every creature rejoices in You, O blessed One.” The latter, like the Akathist, are written to the words of chants.

FRESCO OF DIONYSIUS IN THE TOMB OF THE REVEREND MARTINIAN

In addition to painting the entire internal surface of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Dionysius in the same 1502 partially decorated with frescoes the two outer walls of the cathedral, the western and southern ones. The portal painting of the western wall is dedicated to the temple feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. A lot has been written about her. Much less attention was paid by researchers to the external fresco of the southern wall at the burial of one of the founders of the Ferapontov Monastery, the Monk Martinian. In the 17th century The fresco ended up in the interior of the tomb church, attached to the cathedral, and is located in a niche of its northern wall.

The burial of the wonderworker Martinian turned out to be the logical center around which the stone construction of the monastery took shape. Martinian died in 1483, at the age of 76, and was buried near the southern wall of the then wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, erected by the monk himself in 1465. In 1490, his student and prayer leader, Archbishop of Rostov Joasaph (Obolensky), on the site of a wooden Church built the first stone cathedral without disturbing the burial. The fact that the burial was not under the cathedral, but outside, suggests that the veneration of St. Martinian was already significant at that time, and this was supposed to be evidenced by a separate tomb, following the example of the tomb of St. Kirill of Belozersky. There is no exact information about what the original tomb was like, apparently wooden. I. I. Brilliantov suggested that after the construction of the cathedral a chapel was erected. Its presence is confirmed by the existence of a wooden shrine, built before the construction of the Martinian Church in 1640-1641. The reliquary dates from about 1570. One panel of it survives, forming the east side of the later gilded wooden reliquary of 1646, which became part of the decoration of the stone church.

Gilded wooden carved shrine of St. Martinian. Fresco of Dionysius over the burial. Photo from the 1980s.

It can be assumed that the original tomb on the site of the existing church was erected before the canonization of the abbot. The basis for this can be the healings described in the life at the tomb of Martinian, where prayer services were served before the councils of 1549-1551, although not to the abbot, but to the Mother of God. In the Life, compiled in the middle of the 16th century. The monk of the Ferapontov Monastery, Matthew, mentioned not only the tomb, but also cancer (in the story about the 10th miracle of the healing of the young man Stephen from leprosy). The miracle occurred at a time when Abbot Gury was in Moscow with a list of nine miracles and learned about the tenth miracle upon his return to the monastery. The builder of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov, could himself build a tomb for his illustrious teacher. Not without interest in this sense is the opinion expressed to the author by the artist N.V. Gusev, who copied the frescoes of the cathedral for 35 years, that the fresco over the burial of St. Martinian was created for the interior, since it was painted with darker colors, in contrast to the external portal.

Compared to the painting of the cathedral, this painting has very large losses. Despite the poor preservation of the composition, it can be defined as “Our Lady of Pechersk with the upcoming archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the kneeling monks Ferapont and Martinian.” All the figures are facing the central image of the Virgin Mary, which has been completely lost. The figures of the archangels and St. Nicholas standing behind the Archangel Gabriel are in the best state of preservation. The figures of the crouching Ferapont and Martinian have been lost by almost half.

The width of the fresco exactly corresponds to the length of the shrine (231 cm), that is, the size of the saint’s coffin. In the 17th century During the construction of the tomb church, the fresco was to some extent neglected, since its upper left edge turned out to be higher than the edge of the arch of the niche, and a wide field was left behind the right part of the composition. The fresco was not whitewashed for a long time; the monastery inventories were from 1763 and 1747. she is mentioned. In the 19th century Significant alterations began in connection with the extension in 1836-1838. meals on the west side. At the same time, the mural painting of the quadrangle and the meal was completed. During these works, the tomb fresco of Dionysius was severely damaged: the protruding part of the composition (the cathedral pilaster) was hewed away and a new painting was made on top of the ground. The ancient fresco was hidden by a layer of cement and a recording, different in content, which depicted “The Repose of Martinian.”

In 1928, the fresco of Dionysius was uncovered from contamination and cement by restorer P.I. Yukin. The composition turned out to be severely damaged: in addition to the loss of its central part, the spaces on the faces of the saints and some other upper layers of the painting were erased. Confirmation that the central figure was the Mother of God and Child was found in the archive by researcher M.G. Malkin in the inventory of the beginning of the 18th century: “Above the shrine is the image of the Most Pure Mother of God of Pechersk, on the sides are the images of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. Nicholas in prayer, the Venerables Ferapont and Martinian, written in wall writing.” Another researcher V.D. Sarabyanov found mention of this fresco in the inventories of 1747, 1751, 1763 and 1767. and did not find it in subsequent inventories of the 18th century, suggesting that the fresco had already been whitewashed by that time.

The author of the first book about the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery V.T. This composition remained unknown to Georgievsky, since it was revealed by P.I. Yukin much later than the publication of Georgievsky. The murals of the church-tomb were introduced into scientific circulation by N.M. Chernyshev, who dated it to the time of the painting of the cathedral. In art historical literature, different opinions have been expressed about the nature of the composition and the degree of skill of its author. For example, G.V. Popov believed that the fresco was painted without the participation of Dionysius, and M.G. Malkin took it to the hand of the “last master” of his artel.

Following historical logic, it can be argued that the mural painting in the niche of the church of St. Martinian was carried out by Dionysius himself due to the special importance of this place, since it decorated the burial of the highly revered abbot, the “owner” of the monastery, figuratively speaking, the “successor” of the glory of the founder of the monastery, St. Ferapont. Let us recall that the relics of the wonderworker Ferapont are located in the Luzhetsky Mozhaisk Monastery, where he rested in 1426, and his Belozersk monastery began to be called the Martinian monastery.

If we consider the composition in the tomb church not in isolation from the rest of the mural, then in addition to decorating the place where the relics of one of the founders of the monastery are buried, it continued (or rather completed) the disclosure of the general plan for the painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Like the portal fresco, which was simultaneously completed at the end of the painting of the cathedral, the mural painting of the tomb was the final link in a single artistic embodiment of the idea of intercession. If on the portal of the cathedral the main focus in the upper register of the painting is the appearance of the Savior, then on the southern wall of the temple this continued with the appearance of the Mother of God. Moreover, the asymmetry of the number of Deesis figures in the portal fresco was balanced in combination with the asymmetry of the standing Virgin Mary on the southern wall. Based on this, it seems unconvincing to assume that the fourth figure from the left in the Deesis is St. Nicholas, especially from the unconventional side for him, ¾ at the right hand of the Savior. Following the logic of the unity of the external frescoes, it can be assumed that when placing the image of Archbishop Nicholas of Myra on the fresco in the tomb, Dionysius placed on the portal not him, but his fellow saint. Thus, in the iconostasis of the cathedral, the icon of St. Nicholas corresponded to the icon of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian.

The recognition of the fourth saint on the portal was complicated by the fact that his figure was also badly damaged by alterations, like the fresco in the tomb. In the 18th century the roof of the porch was lowered, and its rafters were cut into the murals of the upper register of the portal. Before restoration work, the figure was not completely visible; it remained above the suspended ceiling. Various assumptions have been made about which saint is depicted in the Deesis of the portal. The monastery inventory of 1747 mentions this composition: “In the porch above the western church doors there is an image of the Savior Almighty. On the sides of the Spasov image there are written in wall script images of the Most Holy Theotokos, John the Baptist, the archangels Michael and Gabriel and the apostolic images, and images of the Nativity of the Mother of God” [emphasis added by us ¾ E.S.] Dionysius depicted the third pair, as in the Deesis of the iconostasis the apostles Peter and Paul, the fourth unpaired figure at the right hand of the Savior is most likely the Apostle John the Theologian, the same name saint of the builder of the cathedral, Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov (in the world Prince John of Obolensky).

Returning to the fresco in the tomb, it should be noted that the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the southern wall is not accidental, since this wall is common with the St. Nicholas chapel (a feature noticed by many researchers). It is worth emphasizing the “feedback” connection of the chapel with the church of St. Martinian. On the southern wall of the chapel there is a composition “The Transfer of the Relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker,” which depicts a large shrine of St. Nicholas. Under this fresco on the outside, that is, in the interior of the church-tomb, there is a shrine of St. Martiniana. The interconnection of the compositions is enhanced by the architectural detail of a ¾ window from the cathedral to the church, which, as is known, also had a symbolic interpretation. The vertical line from the window, which is the connecting link between the cathedral and the church, falls on the edge of the composition from the side of the figure of St. Nicholas.

If in the chapel all the compositions reveal the “earthly” deeds of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, then the outer fresco depicts his “heavenly” intercession. Here the continuity from Archbishop Nicholas to Abbot Martinian is emphasized. Nicholas of Myra is a great organizer and shepherd, and this is in consonance with the actions of the Monk Martinian, the builder of the Ferapont monastery and a revered shepherd. Saint Martinian was the spiritual mentor of such famous figures as the Monk Cassian the Greek, Blessed Galaktion of Belozersky, Bishop Philotheus of Perm and the aforementioned Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov, the builder of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and the customer of the frescoes of Dionysius.

The frescoes of Dionysius in the St. Nicholas chapel colorfully depict the intercession of St. Nicholas for those unjustly convicted (the compositions “Deliverance of Three Men from Execution,” “Appearance to Three Governors in Prison,” “Appearance of St. Nicholas to Tsar Constantine” and “Appearance of St. Nicholas to Eparch Evlavius”). We find similar examples in the Life of St. Martinian. It is enough to recall his fearlessness in defending the boyar from the disgrace of Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark. The Grand Duke, having chosen the monk as his spiritual father, called him to be abbess at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, from where he subsequently returned to the Ferapont monastery. One day Vasily II wanted to return a boyar who had fled to the prince of Tver, and sent the Monk Martinian to him. Having secured promises, the boyar returned, but was captured and imprisoned. Having learned about this, Abbot Martinian immediately rode on horseback to Moscow, appeared to the sovereign and denounced him with anger, withdrawing his blessing on him and his reign. The prince remembered well how the loss of the blessing of his former rival Dimitry Shemyaka turned out and “feared God.” He immediately removed the boyar’s disgrace and went to the Trinity Monastery with repentance. Hegumen Martinian met and blessed his spiritual son with honor, and he himself asked for his forgiveness for his daring, showing an example of gentleness and humility.

The composition “The Repose of St. Nicholas” is located on the southern altar pillar of the cathedral opposite the “Transfer of the Relics of Nicholas of Myra.” It is the only image of the Dormition in the temple murals, which indicates the connection of both compositions with the tomb behind the wall. We do not see the “unearthly” life of Nikola in the bowels of the cathedral, but we see outside it, in another world, in heavenly intercession. Thus, the cycle of frescoes of the St. Nicholas chapel ends in the church of St. Martinian with the intercession of Nicholas the Wonderworker before the Mother of God.

The idea of the relationship between the external frescoes of the cathedral is supported not only by the upcoming ones, but also by the kneeling figures of the Venerables Martinian and Ferapont on the southern wall ¾ of the Venerable John of Damascus and Cosmas of Mayum, respectively, in the tympanum of the door arch of the portal, where they are depicted by Dionysius falling to the Mother of God of the Sign.

In both exterior paintings of the cathedral there are figures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the Martinian Church, the image of the Archangel Michael has an additional meaning. This is the saint of the same name of the Monk Martinian in the world and in the schema. The monk himself is depicted at the feet of the Archangel Michael, above his head there is an almost erased inscription, which can be read as “MARTINIAN”. The image of the buried person on the mural was natural and traditional if the tomb was walled up in the floor or wall of the temple. If it were not for this circumstance, then the founder of the monastery, the Monk Ferapont, should have been depicted on the left side of the composition (his image is opposite). The founders of the monastery are depicted without halos (the head of the right figure has not been preserved), since the canonization of Saints Ferapont and Martinian took place between 1547 and 1549, that is, almost 50 years after the painting of the cathedral. But Dionysius, ahead of his time, leaves us their images.

ICON ARTIST DIONISIOUS

The most difficult thing, perhaps, to write about is the amazing miracle that was preserved in the Ferapontov Monastery by the 21st century - the frescoes of Dionysius. A lot of research has been compiled on this topic, but little is known about the icon painter himself. Monastic synodics (memorial books) with records of the family of Dionysius discovered in recent years do not provide sufficient grounds for judgment about its origin. It remains unknown when and where he was born, when he died and where he was buried.

According to reviews of Dionysius' contemporaries, already in the 1470s he was considered the most famous among Russian icon painters. His works were highly valued. Thus, Vladyka Vassian (Toporkov) of Kolomna gave three icons of Dionysius to the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery for commemoration, and in the monastery’s insert book it was written that it should be commemorated “as long as the monastery of the Most Pure One stands.”

The first mention of one of Dionysius’s early works is contained in a chronicle compiled in Moscow under Grand Duke John III. In it, under 1477, is placed “The Legend of Paphnutius of Borovsk,” which tells about the temple built by the monk and about its “wonderful” painting. However, the names of the masters were omitted by the grand ducal chronicler. The authorship of Elder Mitrofan and Dionysius was pointed out by Archbishop Vassian (Sanin) of Rostov in the life of the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsky, which he compiled. Having named the icon painters, he gave them the highest assessment, calling them “notorious [glorified] then more than anyone else in this matter.”