Paths of Devotion, Art, and Liturgy throughout the Palaiologan Era. The Enthroned Virgin with the Child, Holy Patrons, and Archangels, in the Semi-dome of the Main Apse of the Wallachian Church Dedicated to Saint Nicholas in Curtea de Argeş

Abstract

The present paper has as its focus the decoration of the Princely Church’s semi-dome; an iconographic context which offers a display of the enthroned ever-Virgin holding Jesus in her arms. Such a decoration is not normally problematic if it were not for the adjunction of two holy figures on the sides. This original screen captures familiar devotional practices, as well as bringing together both the patronal aspect, linked directly to St. Nicholas to whom the church is dedicated, and the liturgical one, related to St. John Chrysostom, in his quality as the author of a Liturgy. The foundation of the Wallachian Ecclesiastical Metropolis in 1359 was the occasion for this innovative display. It is stated that Constantinopolitan norms were observed in the choice of the iconography yet its affiliation to a precise monument remains unresolved. The painters intended, in this case, to portray not merely an ordinary Virgin and Child, but to portray what is to be considered a local identity pattern. The last part of the article is dedicated to the liturgical inscription under the semi-dome. In author’s opinion, its presence reflects a debate aroused at the Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos. An analysis of the historical context suggests the years for the completion of the wall-paintings at an already advanced date, most likely, 1364/5.

Keywords

• virgin holding jesus
• kyriotissa
• holy patrons
• apse decoration
• great lavra
• palaiologan art
• wallachia
• curtea de argeş
• kyiv
• pecherskaja