Page 533 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

Historic Monuments of Serbia: Kosovo and Metohija
St. Nicholas restores the Sight of St. Stefan Dečanski, Gorioč
nography, in the first decades of the 17th century. icons, which were kept in the church until recently, are of higher artistic value than the wall paintings. Narthex which was built subsequently is today in ruins. architectural conser- vation works and the cleaning of paintings were carried out in 1968. However, this monument of the Serbian past can no longer be seen because it was entirely destroyed in august 1999.
14. Kijevo, Church of Saint Nicholas
it is located in the spacious churchyard beside the vil- lage cemetery and it belongs to the group of monasteries and churches in the Beli Drim valley that were erected af- ter the renewal of the Peć Patriarchate. The one-nave build- ing was successively enlarged by narthex and belfry. This small church vaulted along its length was certainly built in the second half of the 16th century. The apse, semi-circular by shape from outside, is a niche inside. The church has no wall paintings. The narthex is a spacious building with rect- angular foundation and is somewhat lower than the church, has semi-oval dome, is lit from a southern narrow window and has the entrance on the west. it has the completely preserved wall paintings from 1602/1603. The standard but exceptionally rich contents includes chosen Serbian saints, holy warriors and doctors in the zone of standing figures, developed composition of the Last judgment, ten scenes from the cycle of Passion of Christ and the same number of scenes from the cycle of Christ’s activities and miracles as well as the decorations on the top of the vault. a large group of villagers as a collective founder did not succeed in engaging a talented painter so that the narrative wall paint- ings of the Kijevo narthex has careless drawing and un- skillful composition. However, some rare iconography de- tails deny the judgment about their self-taughtness. a solid storeyed belfry was built in front of narthex in the 19th cen- tury. Today, the church continues to keep the important collection of chronologically and stylistically different icons.
St. Nicholas, icon from Monastery Gorioč, 16th century, National Museum, Belgrade
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