Unfinished Story of 850 Years Old Frescos

Story Natural
Year
2020
Storyteller
Stsiapan Stureika, ICOMOS-Belarus Chair
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Overview

The Saviour Transfiguration Church of St. Euphrosyne monastery in the town of Polatsk, Vitsebsk Province was built in 1152-1161 and became a clear evidence of the historical openness of the Belarusian lands and its inclusion into international trade relations such as Hanseatic League and the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, as well as of the great path of Christianity development in traditionally pagan lands. The artistic solution of the church combines Greek, Byzantine and Old Russian artistic traditions in the North-East of Europe. All this allowed the monastery to be included in the Belarusian World Heritage Tentative List, and to hold European Heritage Days in the monastery in 2019. The most remarkable feature of the church is its ancient fresco painting. The church is the only monument of the 12th century in Belarus where fresco painting is almost completely preserved. Today situation with frescoes is complicated. After restoration and uncovering, the frescoes are much more susceptible to temperature and humidity while interest towards them dramatically increasing. Frequent visits lead to dangerous fluctuations in temperature and humidity inside the building. In world practice, there are various solutions to such problem: making copies of historical values, building pavilions that protect objects, equipping special vestibules. Our idea is to start an international competition of conceptual solutions to ensure the temperature and humidity safety of the church interiors, as well as their best demonstration to individual and organized visitors. Competition would be open to design and architectural companies, individual architects, as well as to students of heritage-related programs. We want to tell Europe the story of the Belarusian church and its amazing frescoes, involve both experienced experts and young professionals from all over Europe into discussing and deciding the fate of the church and thus to demonstrate Belarusian openness towards new ideas and international contacts in the field of cultural heritage preservation.

Unfinished Story of 850 Years Old Frescos Short History The town of Polatsk is one of the most ancient towns founded by West Slavs. First mentioned in a Chronicle of Kiev and Kievan Rus in 862. From 10th to 13th centuries Polatsk was the central town of the Polatsk Principality. Favorable geographical location on trade ways (Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks and Hanseatic League) promoted the rapid economical and cultural development. At that time outstanding examples of architecture of the period St. Sofia Cathedral and Savior Transfiguration Church were constructed. The Saviour Transfiguration Church in the town of Polatsk, Vitsebsk Province, is a monument of ancient Greek-Byzantine Orthodox architecture. It was built between 1152 and 1161 by the Polatsk architect Ioann by the order of the princess St. Euphrosyne of Polatsk as a cathedral church of the Convent of the Saviour and St. Euphrosyne. In 1582, King of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stefan Batory gave the church to the Order of Jesuits. In 1832, the church was placed under the Orthodox administration. In the 19th century it was partially remodeled according to the design by the Russian architect A. Port. In 1990 it became a property of the Belarusian Exarchate. The entire original structure of the foundation, of the walls and vaults of the Saviour Church is preserved. At present, the church is a place of worship. The church is a stone-made, 3-nave, 6-pillar cruciform building with a domed roof, with a dome rising on a high tambour. The walls are made of plinth bricks, the brickwork having a "concealed row" typical for the Polatsk architecture of those times. Alongside the choirs there were two small cells, one of which was supposedly intended for the St. Euphrosyne of Polatsk, who founded the church. The Value Сonstruction of such a prosperous monastery in Polatsk became a clear evidence of the historical openness of the Belarusian lands and its inclusion into international trade relations, as well as of the great path of Christianity development in traditionally pagan lands. It is no secret that by the middle of the 13th century, Polotsk had become the main partner of the Hanseatic League in the region, and was also located on the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”. In addition, the artistic solution of the church combines Greek, Byzantine and Old Russian artistic traditions in the North-East of Europe. The subsequent history of the church reflects the rivalry of two leading Christian traditions - Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which ended today with their peaceful coexistence. All this allowed the monastery to be included in the Belarusian World Heritage Tentative List, and to hold European Heritage Days in the monastery in 2019. Unfinished Restoration However, the most important history of the Temple is still far from its end! This is the story of the church restoration. The most remarkable feature of the Transfiguration Church is its ancient fresco painting, completely covering the walls of the temple. The church is the only monument of the 12th century in Belarus where fresco painting is almost completely preserved. The walls of the church are painted with images of holy and biblical subjects in the Byzantine style. Today they excite us with its spirituality, restrained, but rich in gamut, with combination of red, brown, blue and yellow colors. Experienced masters of that time painted them with natural paints on raw plaster, which ensured the safety of the painting for many centuries. Of particular note is the historical significance of nearly 4,000 graffiti made right on the ancient frescos inside the Church in old Belarusian, Latin and Polish languages. It is a unique “library” of small stories from eight centuries of funeral, benevolent, autographic, annalistic and everyday contents. The chronology of these graffiti takes a period of time from the second half of the 12th century to 1832. Some inscriptions have a full dating, that is, year, month and date. Many, especially the funeral, only a month and a day, which was quite enough for the commemoration. The time for writing some undated inscriptions is determined by paleographic features, by the form of letters, which has changed over time. Also unique chronicle graffiti were discovered, for example, an inscription from the end of the 15th century about the death of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir in 1492, about the accession of his son Alexander to the princely throne and his stay in Polatsk. All historical graffiti are preserved and recorded for future researchers. Through the time historical frescoes were repeatedly updated and overpainted. The last two updates occurred in 1833 and 1886, when the entire temple was re-painted with oil paints. In the early 1990s, a systematic restoration of frescoes began. It was headed by the Minsk artist-restorer and researcher Uladzimir Rakitsky. His efforts fully revealed the frescoes of the dome, drum and other internal parts. At the same time, the first works were done to exfoliate and preserve the oil layer of the 19th century. It was transferred to the new foundation (canvas) and later exhibited in Polatsk picture gallery. In 2007, in order to accelerate the disclosure of frescoes, Moscow specialists were connected to the work under the guidance of restoration artist Uladzimir Sarabyanov, chief art critic of the Scientific and Restoration Art Department of the Ministry of Culture of Russia. Currently, a significant area of murals has been revealed, giving a clear idea of the style and system of the interior decoration of the church. See: https://www.panoramas.lt/en/panoramata/090f4897c8476e872035#pano-title https://www.panoramas.lt/en/panoramata/99f4ff5e0492a2dab1ac#pano-title The Problem Today in the church there is a dual situation. On the one hand, after opening, the frescoes are much more susceptible to temperature and humidity. On the other hand, interest towards them from the pilgrimage and tourists is dramatically increasing. In winter and summer people come to the church. Frequent visits lead to dangerous fluctuations in temperature and humidity inside the building. At the same time, the number of visitors is likely to continue to grow. In addition, the cramped interior of the temple makes it difficult to observe frescoes. Recently discovered elements of historical and cultural value (murals, historical graffiti and remains of side galleries) require a new organization of their display. In world practice, there are various solutions to the problem: making copies of historical values (Lascaux and Chauvet caves in France), building pavilions that protect objects (Peter the Great House in St. Petersburg and Abraham Lincoln House in Kentucky), equipping special vestibules (Scrovegni Chapel in Padua). What solutions are most suitable for the Polatsk church? Obviously, for our case an individual approach is required, combining technological and managerial solutions. The Idea An important proposal aimed at resolving the situation is conduction of an international competition of conceptual solutions to ensure climate safety and at the same time to demonstrate the interiors of the Saviour Transfiguration church in Polatsk. Information about the competition will be distributed through the international ICOMOS network, the network of the European Commission, diplomatic missions located in Belarus and wide media coverage. International competition will allow: • to tell the whole of Europe the story of the Belarusian church and its amazing frescoes; • to involve both experienced experts and young professionals and students from all over Europe into discussing and deciding the fate of the church; • to demonstrate Belarus’s openness towards new ideas and international contacts in the field of cultural heritage preservation. The purpose of the competition: Finding the optimal conceptual architectural and conservation solution to ensure the temperature and humidity safety of the interiors of the church, as well as their best demonstration to individual and organized visitors. The competition is open to design and architectural companies, individual architects, as well as to students of various heritage-related programs. The planned start of the contest is the European Heritage Days in September 2020. The end and summing up is April 18, 2021, International Heritage Day. Let's write the story of the temple and its frescoes together!

European Dimension

The Saviour Transfiguration Church of St. Euphrosyne monastery in the town of Polatsk, Vitsebsk Province was built in 1152-1161 and became a clear evidence of the historical openness of the Belarusian lands and its inclusion into international trade relations such as Hanseatic League and the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, as well as of the great path of Christianity development in traditionally pagan lands. The artistic solution of the church combines Greek, Byzantine and Old Russian artistic traditions in the North-East of Europe. Also, the subsequent history of the church reflects the rivalry of two leading Christian traditions - Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which ended today with their peaceful coexistence. All this allowed the monastery to be included in the Belarusian World Heritage Tentative List, and to hold European Heritage Days in the monastery in 2019.