Kovachev, K. and Tomova, B. The Wall Paintings in Holy Trinity Church (Krupnik) From the Collection of the National Archaeological Museum
The Wall Paintings in Holy Trinity Church (Krupnik) from the Collection of the National Archaeological Museum
In: Obscured Balkans, vol. 1, 2024.
Authors:
Kristiyan Kovachev, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral researcher
Institute of Balkan Studies and Center of Thracology
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bisera Tomova, curator
National Archaeological Institute with Museum
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Received: March 28, 2024
Technical Evaluation: April 10, 2024
Editorial Review: May 10, 2024
Peer Review: June 10, 2024
Accepted: July 11, 2024
Published: November 7, 2024
10.6276/OB2024KKBT
English
Kovachev, K. and Tomova, B. 2024. ‘The Wall Paintings in Holy Trinity Church (Krupnik) from the Collection of the National Archaeological Museum.’ Obscured Balkans, vol. 1, pp. 205–215. DOI 10.6276/OB2024KKBT, ISSN 3003-1331.
The article presents for the first time unexplored fragments of wall paintings from the late medieval Krupnik Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, kept in the National Archaeological Museum. The authors try to answer the question: is it possible that the painters of Krupnik belonged to a larger studio that completely covered the painting of churches in the Middle Struma area (which interpretations exist in the historiography), or rather that their work was influenced by other artists, working in the north-west or south. In order to solve this problem, parallels were sought in the preserved wall paintings from Vukovo, Boboshevo, Orlitsa and Goranovtsi, which date from approximately the same period as the Krupnik Church (XV-XVII centuries). The preserved frescoes show the hands of artists who were well acquainted with the Orthodox iconographic programmes of the late Middle Ages and the post-Byzantine period. The fragments show two layers, painted at different times between the 15th and 17th centuries. The frescoes can also be associated with the active policy of Bishop Jacob II, during which the painting of the Boboshevo Monastery of St. Demetrius and the Nunnery Orlitsa was carried out.
frescoes, Krupnik bishops, Holy Trinity Church
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