Page 138 - Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

Byzantine Painting through Contemporary Eyes
hills of the landscape-setting join above Christ’s head, in such a manner, that they insin- uate a sudden angular turn of the Jordan River. In this way, the luminous Christ’s body is encompassed within the contrasting blue colour of the river, whereas the landscape, being of similar bright-warm tones of colour to those used in the rendering of Christ’s body, radiates a mystic unity of the entire painted surface. When we consider these as- pects collectively, we discern that the tendency towards abstraction in the frescoes of Perivleptos is distinctly altered and perhaps even heightened when compared to its equivalent in Panselinos’ frescoes. Of course, the specificities of the size and shape of the wall surfaces, and above all, the limitations of these, have played an essential role in the arrangement of figures within both compositions discussed here.
However, as can be observed in the scene of Transfiguration (image 8), irrespective of the specificities of the architectural setting, the authors of the frescoes at Perivleptos nurtured a very conscious liking of an abstracted line in their drawing, as well as of par- ticularly earthy tones of colour. The analogous theme (Transfiguration) rendered by Panselinos in Protaton, shown in image 9, is comparatively different in this regard. In spite of these distinctions between the paintings of the two periods, it cannot be disput- ed that frescoes at Perivleptos constitute a continuation, as well as an enrichment of the style of the previous period.
From what has been said so far, it was particularly important to compare the mid 14th century frescoes in Perivleptos to the late 13th century frescoes in Protaton. This was conducted in order to introduce the reader to the specific nature of our further elabora- tion and analyses, which aim at demonstrating the diachronic significance of the hesy- chast connection between the frescoes of Perivleptos and those of Kalenić. Thus, we emphasise that the specific discussion which follows after the segment entitled A Con- cise Historical Overview of the Hesychast Debate, does not undermine the fact that the narrative nature, the classical sculpturality of form, the Hellenistic influences, as well as the general tendency towards abstraction, are the basic characteristics of the entire last phase of Byzantine painting.
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