Page 131 - Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

Chapter II
The last paragraph of the aforementioned poem, a poem which is possibly dedicated to the author’s brother and whose title best translates to The Word about Love, entails a particularly eschatological message:
“And may we become gathered in one anew, And may we see each other anew,
And through love may we unite,
In our God Christ Himself anew,
The glory to Whom is due, Together with the Father,
And the Holy Spirit,
To the infinite ages,
Amen.”19
It is important to mention that during the Ottoman rule, in order to protect the fres- coes from being destroyed by the Ottomans, the faithful have actually covered all of the frescoes in Kalenić with a thin layer of lime. These frescoes were rediscovered in 1877 and then cleaned. We can only imagine the astonishment of the faithful when they saw these revealed frescoes in the 19th century. A valuable photograph preserved from that period informs us of the possibility that the earlier discussed detail of the composition of the The Wedding in Cana showing the bridegroom, the bride and the servant made a par- ticular impression on the faithful. More particularly, our diptych shown in image 15 compares this detail of the fresco (on the left) with a 19th century photograph (on the right). In this photograph a hieromonk from Kalenić, Makarije Davidović Todorović (c.1849–1897), who witnessed the rediscovery of the frescoes in 1877, sits with two of his relatives. More specifically, hieromonk Makarije, on the left of the photograph, sits next to his older relative in a manner which clearly shows that they intentionally aimed for a very symmetrical outcome of the photograph: they face the camera in the same way and they both have their hands calmly placed on their knees. Their younger relative is in a central position right behind them: the boy has his hands placed on their shoulders and he gazes directly at the camera. The overall posture and disposition of the three photo-
19 Our translation. See: Деспот Стефан Лазаревић, Слово Љубави: Слова и Натписи. Избор и предговори: Мио- драг Павловић. Текстове приредио: Димитрије Богдановић (Београд: Златоусти, 2009), 18.
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