On the Question of the History of the Creation and Formation of the Programme of the Fresco Painting of the Pokrovsky Cathedral (Sobor of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin) of Barnaul
Abstract
The establishment of Soviet power in Barnaul is connected with tragic
events for the Orthodox Church: the closing of churches, the punishment of priests who did
not accept the “godless power”, confiscation of church property, and the ban on religious
education for children and the preaching of the Orthodox faith1. In the context of historical
events, it is appropriate to reflect on the visual narrative of the fresco painting of the Pokrovsky Cathedral and understand what is presented here: a standard set of copies of
well-known examples from the capital recommended by the Holy Synod, selected by the
Prior and mechanically transferred by a Siberian artist into the interior of a provincial
church or an original fresco programme, although based on the well-established system
of iconographic canons and images but created for the purpose, which form the codenarrative,
understandable only for the believer from the “recognisable” models and storytelling
scenes, to create a unified spiritual space, “the mirror of consciousness”, sensitively
reflecting the inner life of the individual (his doubts, fears, hopes), reinforcing it through
the visualisation of marks of the Divine power − the analogy of his own pain with the
suffering of the Son of God. The purpose of this research is to analyse the meaningful
content of the frescoes and the system of their interaction – connectedness to the
architectural space of the church. At the same time, the research concentrates primarily on
the meaning of the painting programme. There will be no attempt to criticise the artistic
value of paintings since it is difficult to distinguish the original message after numerous
renewals and restorations.
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