Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

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Introduction
of Damascus, who observes that when compared to a human, the angel is bodiless and immaterial whereas anything that is compared to God, who alone is incomparable, is thick and of the material (including the angels).17 Certainly such theological concepts would have had a significant influence on the authors of the best examples of Byzantine art. Yet, in spite of the vast bibliography, Byzantine painting has not yet been sufficient- ly interpreted in respect of the theological ideas and concepts which contributed to its overall formation. Instead, in respect of the Late Byzantine period, which constitutes a period of the most significant achievement in the realm of Byzantine painting, scholars of the 20th century were mostly interested in Western influences and in the relationship between Byzantine and Renaissance painting.
The first part of the book comprises three chapters. In our first chapter entitled From El Greco to His Byzantine Predecessors we aim at presenting the aesthetics of Late Byzan- tine painting in a new light. More particularly, this chapter elaborates on a number of complex aesthetic problems, and on the answers the Late Byzantine artists gave to them, in order to provide a deeper level of understanding the characteristics of Late Byzantine painting. Particular emphasis is given on the following phenomena: (a.) realism in Late Byzantine painting, (b.) tendency towards abstraction, and (c.) transcendental mood of compositions.
The second chapter entitled The Relationship between Hesychasm and the Aesthetics of Late Byzantine Painting, assesses the significance of the influence of Hesychasm on Byz- antine fresco painting of the 14th and 15th century. This study aims at contributing to the previous research undertaken on the related topics.
In our third chapter entitled Modernism of the Frescoes of Mistra, we focus mainly on a few selected frescoes rendered in the medieval city of Mistra. That said, it should be mentioned that the frescoes in the churches of Mistra collectively embody a stylistic variety most representative of the main currents and innovations which occurred be- tween the late 13th and mid 15th century.18 As implied in the title of this brief chapter, certain comparisons are made between the selected frescoes of Mistra and 20th century
17 In particular, St John of Damascus states: «Ἄγγελος τοίνυν ἐστὶν οὐσία νοερά, ἀεικίνητος, αὐτεξούσιος, ἀσώμα- τος, θεῷ λειτουργοῦσα, κατὰ χάριν ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ ἀθάνατον εἰληφυῖα, ἧς οὐσίας τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὸν ὅρον μόνος ὁ κτί- στης ἐπίσταται. Ἀσώματος δὲ λέγεται καὶ ἄυλος, ὅσον πρὸς ἡμᾶς· πᾶν γὰρ συγκρινόμενον πρὸς θεὸν τὸν μόνον ἀσύγκριτον παχύ τε καὶ ὑλικὸν εὑρίσκεται, μόνον γὰρ ὄντως ἄυλον τὸ θεῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἀσώματον.» See: Δαμασκηνοῦ Ἰωάννου. Ἔκδοσις ἀκριβὴς τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως. Μετάφραση: Νικόλαος Ματσούκας (Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκδόσεις Πουρ- ναρά, 2009), 100.
18 In our PhD thesis there is a comprehensive chapter related to frescoes of Mistra.
Uros T. Τodorovic, “The Diachronic Character of Late Byzantine Painting: The Hermeneutics of Vision from Mistra to New York” (PhD diss., University of Sydney, 2012).
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