Nana Burchuladze
PhD of Art Studies
The University of Georgia
T. Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies, Chief Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3689-1397
Nana Burchuladze
PhD of Art Studies
The University of Georgia
T. Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies, Chief Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3689-1397
Depictions of the Assyrian Fathers in the Wall Paintings of Ananuri
Abstract
Images of the Holy Assyrian fathers from the 7th century to the late Middle Ages can be found in almost all branches of Georgian ecclesiastic art – in stone reliefs, murals, icon painting, and manuscript illumination. In most cases, they are represented either individually or together with one or several members of their brotherhood.
The joint image of their team can be found only in the 17th century – in wall paintings of the Ananuri church of the Dormition of the Virgin. There are ¾ height figures of all Assyrian fathers distributed in three rows on the four sides of the eastern section of one octagonal pillar under the dome in the northern part of the building. They are dressed in the same way there and all of them have identification inscriptions in Georgian "Mkhedruli." It is noteworthy that their portraits are framed separately and look like icons hanging next to each other.
There are also icon-like images of "Last judgment" and of St warriors in the south and north walls of the building and the second pillar, which is quite rare in Georgian monumental paintings. An example of this kind of partial painting of the interior can also be found in Ertatsminda church, which dates back to the middle of the 17th century and was made by an artist brought from Jerusalem.
This circumstance is indirect evidence for determining the date of Ananuri's painting. The same can be said about the 17th-century painted icons from the collections of the Georgian National Museum and the Patriarchate of Georgia, which are closest parallels to the images we are interested in.
According to the abovementioned, the painting of Ananuri must have been done immediately after the construction of the temple, in the second half of the 17th century. The fact that in the sixties of the century, the Melkite Patriarch Makarios III of Antioch traveled and even lived in Georgia twice, whose entourage included icon painters is important in explaining the reason for its peculiarities.
This fact must have influenced Georgian ecclesiastic art, and therefore, in the monumental and easel paintings of the 17th century, there are works created under the influence of Melkite's paintings, the group of which includes the portraits of Asyrian fathers in the Ananuri.
Keywords: Medieval Christian Art of Georgia, National Saints, Assyrian Fathers, Wall Paintings of Ananuri