Uwagi na temat wyposażenia cerkwi Zwiastowania w Supraślu w XVI i XVII wieku

• Authors: Joanna Tomalska

Title variants

EN

Comments on the decor of the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Supraśl in the 16th and 17th century

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Despite the fact that monuments of the Orthodox Church in Supraśl have been destroyed, the analysis of archival photographs and descriptions allows a closer perception of the temple’s décor and attempted verification of the attributions functioning in science. Te content of the article is an attempt at presenting the temple’s original décor and changes thereof introduced in the first decades of the 17th century. First proofs of the temple’s décor are included in the Small Register of Sergiusz Kimbar, the Monastery’s first archimandrite. Kimbar noted embellishment of the temple and altar with paintings as well as adding rich ornaments to the icons. Before the Great Supraśl Orthodox Church was decorated with paintings, there were five patronal icons in the iconostas: Hodegetria, Pantocrator, Christ Emanuel, Annunciation and the scenes from the life of Mother of God. Tey were all covered by silver and gold-plated coatings and removable aureoles whereas metal was decorated with precious gems and pearls. After nearly a century since the Small Register was written down, the temple’s interior underwent huge modification. Te new iconostas was created on the request of Nikodem Szybinski. Te work is described in the Inventory from 1645 made after death of archimandrite Nikodem Szybinski. Where was the iconos-tas created? Did the paintings’ author derive from the group of Gdansk artists, as the authors of previous studies claim? Such an attribution was concluded exclusively on the basis of the fragment of the Supraśl Monastery Chronicle, whose author noted down: “I heard from old monks that the abbot ordered to do the whole new structure in Gdansk, bring it to Tykocin by ships and from Tykocin by horses”. Te analysis of ornamental forms allows to question this attribution. Te iconostas, whose paintings have presumably been painted by Bartlomiej Pens based on the comparative analysis, was rather created within the Vilnius art group, where artist Pens and obscure Wincenty called the “Vilnius painter” were working. An additional argument for just such an attribution may be the fact that neither Wincenty nor Andrzej Modzelewski were registered in the Gdańsk guilds of that time.

Keywords

EN

SUPRASL; THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION; SUPRASL ICONOSTAS; SERGIUSZ KIMBAR; BARTŁOMIEJ PENS

• Journal: Studia Podlaskie
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 20
• Pages: 27-54

Contributors

author

Joanna Tomalska

• Muzeum Podlaskie, Bialystok, POLAND