In which monastery the frescoes are painted like a masterpiece? Frescoes of Dionysius in the Ferapontovsky Monastery (Vologda region). About the foundation of the monastery

Ferapontov Monastery (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address and website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The core of the architectural ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery, as well as its oldest and most interesting building, is the single-domed Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the first stone building in Belozerye. The frescoes of the late 15th century, painted by Dionysius and his sons Theodosius and Vladimir, have been preserved virtually unchanged. This is the only church in Russia that has preserved such ancient frescoes created by the greatest painter of his time. In addition to the frescoes, Dionysius also completed the iconostasis, details of which can now be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, and also in the museum of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The cathedral is open during the so-called “airing hours”, which occur infrequently - at suitable temperature and humidity from May to September. In winter the cathedral is closed; in summer it may not work in bad weather conditions (namely high humidity). You cannot take photographs of the frescoes, even without flash.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is located in the center of a complex of churches connected by common porches. The tented church of Martinian is attached to it from the south, a bell tower from the north, then a refectory chamber and a small Church of the Annunciation. Another complex consists of the Holy Gate with the churches of the Epiphany and Ferapont, united in one room, the only ones operating in the monastery.

The refectory and state chambers of the Church of the Annunciation are the earliest buildings of this type preserved in their original form in the Russian North. The tented church of Martinian was built over the burial place of the second founder of the Ferapontov Monastery, teacher Martinian.

The gate churches of the Epiphany and St. Ferapont above the Holy Gates are unique in the complete preservation of all architectural elements. Together with the treasury chamber adjacent to the south, they form the main facade of the Ferapontov Monastery.

In the Ferapontov Monastery there is the only church in Russia that has preserved ancient frescoes created by the greatest painters of his time - Dionysius and sons.

The bell tower is a three-tier, hipped, very rare type with a square bell plan and a tetrahedral tent. There are 17 bells hanging on the ringing tier. The tent contains a unique mechanism of the earliest surviving military clock in Russia from 1638.

The monastery is picturesquely located between two lakes (entrance from the shore of Lake Borodaevskoye) and is visible from afar from all sides. Two kilometers south of the monastery is Tsypina Gora (204 meters) and the wooden church of Elijah the Prophet on Tsypina Pogost.

Practical information

Address: Vologda region, Kirillovsky district, Ferapontovo village, st. Kargopolskaya, 8. Website.

Opening hours: from May 1 to September 31 from 9:00 to 18:00 seven days a week, from September 8 to April 30 from 9:00 to 17:00, from October 1 closed on Mondays.

Dionysius the Wise. With this definition, the name of this famous and one of the most revered artists of Rus' of the late 15th and early 16th centuries is written down on the pages of the history of icon painting.

The exact dates of the artist’s birth and death are not known: he was born into the family of a noble layman Kvashnin around 1450, and died around 1520. The founder of the family was Ivan Rodionovich, a boyar of Dmitry Donskoy, who died in 1390. Funeral entries in the Ferapont Synodik suggest that Dionysius’s wife, Maria, came from the family of clerk Elizar Tsypletev - “a descendant of the princely origin of the family of Belozersk patrimonial Monastyrevs.”

According to ancient Russian chronicles, the icon painter worked a lot, received orders from monasteries, churches, princes of such principalities as Vladimir, Rostov, Uglicheskoe, and from the Moscow Tsar Ivan III. According to historical documents, we know the artist’s works in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Pafnutyevo-Borovsky Monastery (between 1467 and 1476), the Assumption (1480-1481) and Ascension (1482) cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery (1481), the cathedrals of Joseph-Volokolamsk (after 1485), Chigasov (1480), Pavlo-Obnorsky (1500), Spaso-Prilutsky (1503), Kirillo-Belozersky (1497) and, of course, Ferapontov monasteries (1502).

Unfortunately, today the Master’s works have been preserved only in fragments or have been lost completely. But the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery has such a treasure as authentic frescoes, almost unchanged by time and people.

The cathedral's murals are enormous - 600 square meters. meters! 300 plots and individual characters occupy the entire space! Outside, the paintings are located in the central part of the western wall above the doorway and in the lower part of the southern wall above the burial of St. Martinian.

And all this work was carried out in an incredibly short time - only 34 days! This is evidenced by the artist’s signature on the surface of the arch of the northern entrance: “In the summer of the 7010th month of August at 6, on the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, the registration of this church began. And on the 2nd summer of the month of September, at 8 on the Nativity, our Most Holy Lady, Theotokos Mary, passed away. Under the Righteous Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich of All Rus' and under the Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich of All Rus' and under Archbishop Tikhon. And scribe Deonisie the icon painter with his children. O Lord Christ, King of all, deliver them, O Lord, from eternal torment.”.

Art historians also agree that the cathedral was painted by Dionysius together with his sons, Theodosius and Vladimir - more than one hand is felt in the manner of painting. For example, on the slope of a cache, a more skilled artist made two drawings that helped the less skilled artist paint his hands. Under these drawings is written the letter “fita”, with which the name Theodosius begins.

The words of prayer at the end of the entry, as historians suggest, mean that the painting of the cathedral was done as a gift to the monastery, i.e. Dionysius did not take payment for this. Thus, he made a contribution to the monastery for the sake of his soul. This can be confirmed by the fact that the artist’s family is recorded in the monastery synodik. But not everyone received such an honor, but only those who made large donations.

The paintings were done from top to bottom, the compositions of each tier most often being united by a common theme. Dionysius painted in mixed media - frescoes on wet plaster and tempera. According to legend, the artist partially used multi-colored minerals located in the vicinity of the Ferapontov Monastery to make paints. But restoration work, which has been carried out since 1981 and is partially ongoing to this day, has refuted this statement. As prosaic as it may seem, Dionysius wrote with imported paints. Most likely Italian and German. But the effect that he achieved, that amazing closeness of the palette of frescoes and nature - this is the great skill of the Artist!

The ancient icons from the cathedral also belong to the brushes of Dionysius. In the 1930s, the iconostasis was confiscated “due to its low artistic value.” And it’s fortunate that the icons were not destroyed, but transferred to museums - the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and the museum of the Kirillo-Belozersky Reserve.

Iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Photography from the early 20th century.
The iconostasis consisted of four rows of icons - local, festive, Deesis and prophetic, inserted into a carved wooden frame built in the mid-18th century.

Now, let's go and see the extraordinary frescoes, this is a perfect decoration of the cathedral.

At the time of painting, the temple did not have a porch, and the portal composition took on its function - it helped to tune in to detachment from the daily bustle and prepare oneself for service, to think about the meaning of life.

The theme of the temple holiday is the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and the main motif of the painting is dedicated to this event. From left to right, directly above the door, the artist depicted the first moments of Mary's life - Christmas, Bathing, Mary's Dream and Mary's Caress. On the sides of the entrance are depicted two angels - Michael, the head of the heavenly army and the punishing sword of the Lord, and Gabriel with an open scroll. At the top, in the medallion, the Savior is depicted with an open book
fate He is surrounded by the Mother of God, John the Baptist, archangels and apostles. This is a traditional rite of prayer for the human race.

The theme of the Virgin Mary runs deep inside the cathedral. - this line of the Akathist is the basis of everything. Akathist is a solemn prayer, a chant praising the Mother of God. This hymn was supposed to be listened to while standing, hence the name - Akathist, translated from Greek - Nesedalen. The cycle begins with four images of the Annunciation and continues along the entire perimeter of the temple - the Kissing of Mary and Elizabeth, the Doubts of Joseph, the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Journey of the Magi, the Return of the Magi to Babylon, the Flight to Egypt and the Candlemas.

The compositions flow into one another, echoing each other, unfolding like a scroll with writing, from the eastern to the western pillars and then onto the walls. Researchers note that the order and arrangement of the scenes corresponds to the Akathist Saturday ritual. “Rejoice, Unbrided Bride!”

The icon was placed in the iconostasis to the left of the Royal Doors and played an important role in the interior of the cathedral, being one of the key images of the entire ensemble dedicated to the Mother of God. It seems to unite and concentrate the idea of ​​​​the picturesque design of the temple, the leading themes of which were those of the Akathist to the Mother of God.
The image of the Mother of God on the icon belongs to the Hodegetria type, which translated from Greek means “guide”.
The version of the image of the Mother of God Hodegetria presented on the icon has no direct analogies until the 17th century, when icons of similar iconography became widespread under the name Hodegetria of Sedmiezerskaya.
Kept in the Russian Museum

The use of the surfaces of the pillars, and not just the southern and northern walls for the Akathist scenes, has no analogues either in the paintings of Russian churches or churches outside Russia. Moreover, an interesting fact is that the compositions of Dionysius themselves differ from all known Greek and Slavic ones.

Dionysius, as it turned out, was an innovator not only in the painting of the Akathist. For example, before him, the image of John the Baptist had never been seen on the altar, the Ecumenical Councils were not depicted in the paintings of churches, and on the western wall, instead of the usual “Assumption,” the scene of the “Last Judgment” is depicted. But even here, in this menacing scene, Dionysius continues his hymn to the Mother of God. She acts as a protector of the human race.

The lunettes of the vaults (the wall field in the form of a semicircle) contain the largest and most spectacular compositions dedicated to the Mother of God. On the northern wall - Rejoices in You, on the southern wall - the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary and in the eastern part - the Intercession.

Above all this, in the dome, is a half-figure of Christ Pantocrator - a half-length image of Christ blessing him with a closed Gospel in his left hand. Around it, in the spaces between the windows, archangels are depicted, and at the base of the light drum - foremother Eve with the forefathers (Adam, Abel, Enoch, etc.)

The altar contains a half-figure of John the Baptist and the Procession of the Deacons,

and in the deacon there is an image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and scenes from his life.

And again the Mother of God - now in the central asp. Archangels Michael and Gabriel kneel before her.

And one more, external, fresco, and again the hymn to the Mother of God - on the southern wall, above the burial place of the Monk Martinian! (Ferapontov Monastery. Church of Martinian of Belozersky)

Only thanks to an exceptional coincidence of circumstances, the frescoes created by Dionysius have survived to this day. The painting of the cathedral suffered severely in the 17th century, when the monks, caring for better illumination of the building, broke through new wide windows in the domed vestibule of the cathedral, expanded all the slit windows on the walls and made a new window on the western wall, thereby destroying the image of Jesus Christ from the composition of the Last Judgment . As a result of this, the cathedral slowly began to fall apart into four parts, and by the middle of the 18th century it had to be “tied together” with massive forged iron ties.

After the closure of the monastery in 1798, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was used as a parish church. And only at the beginning of the 20th century the architectural restoration of the cathedral and other buildings of the monastery was carried out. And in the first years of Soviet power, the cathedral was saved as a monument of national Russian art, solely thanks to the efforts of the Vologda architectural inspector A.K. Kedrov.

Dionysius is unique in everything. It is unique even in the restoration of its murals. When examining the paintings, it was established that all previous attempts to strengthen the layers of frescoes using traditional methods led to new and varied destruction. And here, in the Ferapontov Monastery, a unique technique for strengthening painting was used for the first time. The main principle of using new preservatives was to bring them under the lagging paint layer without going onto its surface. The fact is that when they came into contact with the paint layer, the previously used preservatives changed the color of the paint. In addition, those areas of the painting that were still partially lost were strengthened with a special solution - the so-called. “wax nails,” but they did not paint them. This is especially noticeable in the painting of the dome, in the image of Christ Pantocrator.

But first it was necessary to clean the walls from the dirt and dust that had accumulated over so many centuries, without damaging the priceless frescoes. It was truly a titanic work! Cleaning was carried out by rolling the surface with cotton swabs and rollers through a polyamide mesh non-woven material! Manually!

The long-term restoration and strengthening of the cathedral's paintings have generally been completed. Currently, regular preventative work is being carried out here.

In 2000, the ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery with paintings by Dionysius was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In preparing the text, materials were used from the monastery’s website and from the report “Results of the Conservation of the Dionysius Mural” by GosNIIR.

"Kirillov Ferapontovo. Stars of the Russian North").

... You can’t drive up to the Ferapontovsky Monastery, there is a narrow bridge over a small river and you have to walk a little yourself. This picture still stands out in my eyes. Green hill, pine trees, lake, dark sky and white monastery.
…Often in texts when they write about the paintings in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the phrase “you freeze in reverent silence” appears. I disagree. Wrong. Nothing freezes. You don’t feel any pretentious reverence. In this place, to put it crudely, it simply “blows your mind completely away,” and to put it aesthetically, then “thoughts completely disappear” and you experience a state of weightlessness and lightness that cannot be expressed in any words.
The frescoes are so incredibly and unobtrusively beautiful that they cannot be viewed in fragments. They surround you, they envelop you from all sides with inexpressibly delicate creamy colors, they pour on you like the most beautiful heavenly music.

*Photos of the frescoes are taken from the monastery website Ferapontovo.ru and Dionisy.com

… Our plans: sights of Kirillov - Siverskoye Lake and the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery; sights of Goritsa - the Sheksna River, the Goritsa Assumption Monastery and Mount Maura; as well as the sights of Ferapontov - Borodavskoye Lake, Ferapontovsky Monastery with the famous frescoes of Dionysius and Tsypina Gora. We have 1.5 days for everything: in the morning ~ at 12 we left Vologda, half a day we are in Ferapontovo, in the evening in Goritsy, in the morning of the next day we see Kirillov, and in the afternoon we leave for Petrozavodsk via Vytegra.

... I was terribly worried. Rain! After all, we may not be allowed, or rather, they definitely will not be allowed into the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Ferapontovo. They also take care of the frescoes like the apple of their eye, they have the strictest temperature regime and only five people are allowed inside so that they don’t inhale too much. And here it's pouring rain. I so dreamed of seeing these frescoes, I stood so many times in the Tretyakov Gallery in front of the works of Dionysius in the Icon Hall, in order to better understand his technique, to feel him, in order to prepare in advance for Ferapontovo. And then it rains...

...We quickly enough reached the sign for Ferapontovo, turned left and drove along a good road for another ~7 km to the village itself. We stopped in a small parking lot in front of the store - the road itself led us there. You cannot drive up to the monastery; there is a narrow bridge over a small river and you have to walk a bit yourself.

This picture still stands out in my eyes. Green hill, pine trees, lake, dark sky and white monastery.

Words cannot express the feeling you experience in this place. You know, I now believe in love at first sight. They just took one look and their heart immediately skipped a beat. Why is it interesting? Right away, when we were climbing up to the monastery, we decided to go down (the monastery itself is on a hill) along a path among the pine trees to the round lake. It was a completely spontaneous decision; the lake attracted me so immediately and powerfully that it was useless to resist it. We sat down on the plank bridge and time stood still. Shshur - a wave came, - shshur - another rustled. The wind got tangled in the pine trees overhead. A pebble in clear water under the waves has rolled from one side to the other. I immediately became interested in this matter, caught and put a couple of pebbles in my pocket. It was with difficulty that the lake and this entire calm landscape let us go.

We got up and went to the monastery.

The monastery, thank God, is not particularly overwhelmed by excessive civilization. A path of large cobblestones leads to the gate, and in the monastery itself there is a carpet of small green grass under your feet, and behind all the churches there is a field and unmown, lush, uncontrollable fragrant herbs. From the open gates of the monastery you can see the lake. I have never experienced such a feeling in any monastery - slight excitement, quiet joy, concentration, anticipation of something wonderful, some kind of fulfillment. There are practically no tourists except us...

...We leave the Refectory and along the corridor, past a group of young artists with easels and sketchbooks, we enter directly into the hands of the guide. We are incredibly lucky. Not only did the rain stop and we got to the Cathedral, but we were also face to face with the guide. There are no tourists except us. Or rather, there are several people, but they are wandering around somewhere.

Often in texts when they write about the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the phrase “you freeze in reverent silence” appears. I disagree. Wrong. Nothing freezes. You don’t feel any pretentious reverence. In this place, to put it crudely, it simply “blows your mind completely away,” and to put it aesthetically, then “thoughts completely disappear” and you experience a state of weightlessness and lightness that cannot be expressed in any words.

The frescoes are so incredibly and unobtrusively beautiful that they cannot be viewed in fragments. They surround you, they envelop you from all sides with inexpressibly delicate creamy colors, they pour on you like the most beautiful heavenly music . They cannot be felt with just your eyes; they include all your senses. You literally have to force yourself to listen to the guide, but she talks very, very interestingly. Her voice reaches you as if from far away. When you look at SUCH creations, no words are needed. “Why words when there are stars in the sky?” Like Pelevin.

Above us in the forget-me-not dome is Christ . The fingers of his right hand, folded into the sign of the cross, are lowered down, and a literal and really physical feeling is created that they are touching you, that they are seeing you from heaven and are blessing you.

Looks at you from the altar dome Mother of God in a cherry cloak with his arms raised and outstretched, and the baby Jesus also with his two arms raised up. This is a very rare image. This is Our Lady Oranta, or the Sign, or the Incarnation.

Below is a belt from the Archangels around the dome (or barrel) - Michael (protection), Gabriel (instructing on the true path), Raphael (healing), Uriel (or Jeremiel, peace of mind and love), Salafiel (praying to God for people), Yehudiel protection from troubles and enemies ), Barachiel (receiving blessings in different circumstances).

The figures are all weightless, as if they are floating around you, and you are flying with them.

On the arches there is a necklace of large round medallions with saints.

Everything, everything, all the walls, all the columns are in the subject paintings. Filigree. Honed. Amazing in color.

At the very bottom, what goes from the floor to the height of human growth - a white stripe with single round, never repeated patterns - is called a towel.

We stand in the cathedral, pretend that we are listening to a wonderful guide, and we ourselves circle, roll our eyes, absorb the colors, admire, enjoy. There is something honey-like about this cathedral. Such a mental pleasure. Such joy. Such calmness. Such power. Such grace.

…For some reason, it is customary to begin an acquaintance with the Russian genius icon painter Dionysius with a discussion of the composition of his marvelous colors. One extremely enthusiastic fan of the frescoes of Dionysius, the artist Chernyshov, bam, and one day an idea dawned on him (Newton was just resting with his apple) - ah, he says, he guessed, the secret of the colors lies in the local pebbles from Lake Borodavskoye. For some reason this hypothesis captivated everyone with its romance. Ah, Borodavskoye Lake, ah, multi-colored pebbles under your feet. I picked it up, rubbed it, and here are the finished paints. For some reason, this version had a hypnotic effect on many people, everyone rushed into discussions, and with shovels and basins to the shores of the lake in order to get paints like those of a brilliant master. There is still debate going on. How many pebbles have been exhausted, but there are still no colors “like Dionysius’s”.

…For some reason everyone forgets about the main thing. Who is this master with the strange non-Russian name Dionysius anyway? Indecently little is known about him.

... His sons helped him in painting the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Dionysius personally painted only its upper part - the dome, drum and medallions on the arches. This is his last work. I think he was pleased with her. Because it is impossible to do better. And the magical color and play of its colors is an exceptionally pure virtuoso skill of an artist-genius. His secret is either mixing colors in a completely intuitive proportion, for example, blue azurite + ocher = a variety of green shades; or the finest glaze, i.e. applying one thin layer of paint to another (white on the lining) and then obtaining either a warm shade or a cold one; or achieving the desired shade, using the fullness of the brush from the beginning of the stroke to its completion; or a play with architectural forms and lighting, for example, he could place the frescoes in the more illuminated upper or, conversely, darkened lower or in the recess of the wall. The simple light from the window already colored the fresco differently. He could also simply play with color combinations. He was a brilliant colorist!

For example, his medallions. There are 68 of them in total. To be honest, I immediately noticed them. They are so unusual, there are so many of them, they are so beautiful, such a necklace of multi-colored balls, when you look at them from below, throwing your head back. So their colors are immediately impressive: forget-me-not, sand, pink and crimson. Just four colors, very soft, very natural and delicate. But how he combines them! Each medallion depicts saints in clothes of different colors: pink in the blue medallion, blue in the crimson medallion, pink in the sand medallion, etc.

68 medallions, only 4 colors - and all different.

The guide let us down To small chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and brought to our attention that the saint's gaze is always directed at you, wherever you stand.

She also said that now the cathedral has wider and more loyal access for visitors, because now the restorers have installed a warm heated floor, so the frescoes are no longer afraid of dampness; in scientific language this is called “stabilization of the microclimate.” Although the Visiting Rules still state that groups of up to 10 people can enter the cathedral if the air temperature in the cathedral is above +10 and the humidity is less than 75%. Visiting time is no more than 30 minutes. Umbrellas and wet clothes must be left outside the cathedral walls.

30 minutes to Dionysius!

Amazing parallels: Dionysius (1440-1502) is a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

Restoration work is carried out very carefully and painstakingly. Thanks to these wonderful people - restorers - practically altruists, selfless specialists (there is a small exhibition about them at the exit of the cathedral), the frescoes were saved and conserved.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary itself is externally impeccably beautiful with real ancient Russian beauty. Rows of kokoshniks and a gray domed helmet. White. Slim. Elegant. Patterned. It was built by Rostov craftsmen. Late 15th century. Adjacent to it are the Bell Tower, the Martinian Church and the Church of the Annunciation with a refectory. All buildings are located in the center of the monastery courtyard and are surrounded by white strong monastery walls.

…

« In the darkening rays of the horizon, I look at the surroundings where Ferapont’s soul saw something of God in earthly beauty. And one day arose from a dream, from this praying soul, like grass, like water, like birches, a wondrous wonder in the Russian wilderness! And the heavenly-earthly Dionysius, having appeared from neighboring lands, raised this wondrous miracle to a level unprecedented before... The trees stood motionless, and the daisies whitened in the darkness, and this village seemed to me like something the most sacred on earth...” Nikolay Rubtsov.

With. 285¦ The preservation of the frescoes is generally good. The restoration of 1738 was carried out quite carefully, and the frescoes were not completely painted over, as was usually practiced in the 18th century, but were only refreshed with tempera in those places where the painting had especially suffered from time. There are abrasions and mechanical damage to the top paint layer. For more information about the state of preservation of the frescoes in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery, see the book: Chernyshev N. M. Fresco art in Ancient Rus'. M., 1954, p. 82–84. With. 285
With. 286¦

Among the paintings of the Ferapontov Monastery, several stylistic groups (at least four) can be identified. The strongest and most subtle master was undoubtedly the one who painted the entrance wall around the western portal. His compositions are the most rhythmic, his slender figures, distinguished by great grace, at the same time have nothing mannered in themselves, his palette stands out for its softness and special harmony. This master is still firmly connected with the traditions of the 15th century. In the church itself, the saints in the apse and the half-figure of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the deacon can be attributed to his brushes. Probably this master was Dionysius himself, who in 1502 must have been about sixty years old. The author of most of the gospel scenes was also among the masters of the older generation. But his work is immeasurably worse in quality than the frescoes on the entrance wall. This is undoubtedly a different individual, less gifted and more primitive in its sense of life.

Next to these two groups of paintings, the most numerous is the one that includes the main episodes of the Theotokos cycle (Protection, Rejoices in You), the Praise of the Mother of God, the Annunciation, the Meeting of Mary with Elizabeth and most of the illustrations to the Akathist, the Parable of the Unabled Servant, the Marriage at Cana , the best parts of the Last Judgment and Councils. The style of this group, close to the style of the 16th century, is marked by special sophistication: thin figures, exaggeratedly elongated proportions, light, as if dancing gait, detailed cutting of the form, an abundance of decorations. The author of the frescoes included in this group was a younger master than the author of the frescoes on the entrance wall. I would like to identify him with one of the sons of Dionysius - Theodosius. Apparently, the elderly Dionysius, although he played a leading role, delegated most of the work to his sons. The weakest master was the one who wrote a cycle of scenes from the life of Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Conversations of the Three Hierarchs, which suffered from the restoration of 1738. There is something sluggish and artisanal in the harsh, slightly rhythmic compositions he performed.

The paintings of the dome, drum, and girth arches also reveal a not very skillful hand. It remains to be clarified whether this is the work of the fifth master or one of the masters just listed. If we settle on the last assumption, then we can only talk about the second or fourth master (that is, the author of the Gospel scenes or the author of the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker). Dionysius, who headed the artel and corrected all its work, probably acted as follows: he took for himself those paintings that occupied the most prominent place in the temple (the entrance wall, the apse and the deacon’s conch), and he entrusted one of his sons (the more gifted) to complete the main and most important part of the order (frescoes of walls and pillars), he assigned to another son (who was much inferior to the first in talent) and an assistant the paintings of the altar, deacon, vaults, girth arches, drum and dome, considering that they were less accessible to the viewer . This stylistic classification of Ferapontov frescoes needs to be verified and clarified. But it can still serve as a starting point in solving one of the complex problems in the history of ancient Russian painting.

S. S. Churakov tried to identify in the Last Judgment scene portraits of famous Italian architects who took part in the construction of the Kremlin - Aristotle Fioravanti and Pietro Antonio Solari (Portraits in the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery. - Soviet Archeology, 1959, No. 3, pp. 99–113) . This hypothesis seems unconvincing, especially since the faces of the supposed “portraits” are not at all individual. Another assumption of S.S. Churakov has more grounds. He is inclined to see in the fresco illustrating the 11th kontakion of the Akathist to the Mother of God (All singing is conquered), a group portrait of Dionysius’ family (the artist himself, his wife and two sons). However, it should be noted that here the faces are by no means portraits. With. 286
¦

81. The Parable of the Fig Tree and the Parable of the Harlot. Frescoes on the western slope of the northern vault	82. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Fresco in the conch of the Nikolsky chapel	[Color ill.] 107.	[Color ill.] 108. Dionysius. Archangel. Fresco in the dome
[Color ill.] 109. Dionysius. Marriage at Cana and Healing of Jairus' Daughter. Fresco on the eastern slope of the southern vault	[Color ill.] 110. Dionysius. Miracle at the Wedding Feast, The Widow's Mite and the Healing of the Blind. Fresco on the western slope of the southern vault	[Color ill.] 111. Dionysius. Virgin and Child. 1502. Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, Ferapontovo. Fresco in the apse conch

Literature

Georgievsky V. T. Frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery. St. Petersburg, 1911.

Georgievskaja-Družinina E. Les fresques du monastère de Thérapon. Etudes de deux thèmes iconographiques. - In: L'art byzantin chez les slaves, II. Paris, 1932, p. 121–134.

Lavrov V. A. Frescoes of Dionysius. - Architecture of the USSR, 1939, No. 2, p. 80–82.

Mikhailovsky B. A., Purishev B. I. Essays on the history of ancient Russian monumental painting from the second half of the 14th century. until the beginning of the 18th century. M.–L., 1941, p. 40–52.

Nedoshivin G. Dionysius. M.–L., 1947.

Chernyshev N. M. Fresco art in Ancient Rus'. Materials for the study of ancient Russian frescoes. M., 1954, p. 61–96.

Churakov S. S. Portraits in the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery. - Soviet archeology, 1959, No. 3, p. 99–113.

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Mikhelson T.N. Picturesque cycle of the Ferapontov Monastery on the theme of Akathist. - Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the USSR Academy of Sciences, XXII. L., 1966, p. 144–164.

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Rudnitskaya L. Frescoes of the portal of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery. - Collection of Likovne Umetnosti, 10. Novi Sad, 1974, p. 71–101.

Bunin A. About the Ferapontov paintings of Dionysius. - Art, 1974, No. 8, p. 59–67.

Popov G.V. Painting and miniature of Moscow from the mid-15th to early 16th centuries. M., 1975, p. 100–113.

Khlopin I. N. To clarify the date of painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the Ferapontov Monastery. - Cultural monuments. New discoveries. Yearbook, 1975. M., 1976, p. 204–207.

Orlova M. A. Some remarks on the work of Dionysius, II. Painting of the western facade of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery. - In the book: Old Russian art. Problems and attributions. M., 1977, p. 334–354.

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Danilova I. E. About the Ferapontov paintings of Dionysius. On the problem of synthesis of arts. - In the book: Danilova I. E. Art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. M., 1984, p. 12–20.

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Vzdornov G. I. Painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery (list of compositions). M. - Ferapontovo, 1998.

Bugrovsky V.V., Dolbilkin N.P., Rolnik I.A. Dionysius. Culture of Moscow Rus'. History lessons. M. - Kyzyl, 1998, p. 111–148 (Chapter 3: “Painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery”).

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Perhaps this post will not seem entirely interesting to you - there are few reproductions, their quality leaves much to be desired (however, it seems to me that this is simply impossible to convey in photographs), a lot of text (I warn you right away) - but I really wanted to remind you of the great Master who dedicated all my life to one project. ONE - but which one!!! Moscow photographer and publisher Yuri Holdin - the only one who managed the almost impossible: he not only captured all the frescoes of Dionysius of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery on a camera, but also, thanks to innovative photography methods, managed to convey their color, texture, volume, proportions, which, according to experts, is unique even for the modern level of photography technology. By the way, residents and guests of Moscow can see his works - the Museum of Orthodox Art of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior now has a permanent exhibition of works by photographer Yuri Holdin. In addition, there is a traveling exhibition of works from his project “The Light of Dionysius’ Frescoes for the World.”

So, Yuri Ivanovich Holdin. No. First Dionysius, or rather his frescoes. On September 21, 2012, the famous frescoes of the great Dionysius in the Ferapontov Monastery turned 510 years old. Frescoes in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery are the only monument in Russia of medieval Russian artistic culture of the 11th-15th centuries. with a complete cycle of paintings (I emphasize this, otherwise you will think that it is the only one), preserved in its original form. Only for this reason they have a unique meaning, not to mention the fact that they were written by their master, whom his contemporaries called “wise,” “notorious above all in this matter,” “the first artist of painting” in Rus'. The area of ​​fresco painting is about 700 sq.m. and includes about three hundred compositions by the artist. The frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery are included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and are included in the State Code of Especially Valuable Objects of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia. I will not write about the brilliant Dionysius and the Ferapont Monastery.

The ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance in the Kirillovsky district of the Vologda region

Frescoes of Dionysius in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Yuri Holdin was born on August 15, 1954. Graduated from the University of Arts in 1979, VGIK. Worked in cinema. Since 1990, he became immersed in Orthodox themes and began taking photographs. During this period, he rented the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery. Publishes an album of his photographs "Moscow Necropolis. Novodevichy Convent". Begins working on the series "Frescoes of Rus'". Since 1995, he has been photographing the frescoes of Dionysius in the Ferapontov Monastery. The result of the work was the educational project “The Light of Dionysius’s Frescoes to the World”, within the framework of which the Dionysius’ frescoes captured by Yuri Holdin were exhibited in 2006 at the State Tretyakov Gallery, New Manege at the exhibition “The Light of Orthodoxy” as part of the Educational Christmas Readings (2007), Russian State Humanitarian University, Novgorod, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, St. Petersburg. One of the master’s most significant works in recent years has been the art album “Through the Veil of Five Centuries: An Intimate Encounter with the Frescoes of Dionysius the Wise.” Yuri Holdin was one of the founders and president of the Frescoes of Rus' Foundation. His professional activities took place in Russia and other countries.

Dionysius and his sons painted the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery in 34 days. Holdin photographed the complex of these frescoes for 10 years! It took so much time not only to cover all the wall paintings. Looking at the master’s works, you remember the literal translation of the word “photography” - “light painting”. Typically, frescoes are photographed at night, under artificial lighting, which results in fairly rigid contours with impenetrable spots of black shadows. The worst thing is what is written on the concave surfaces of the temple. Yuri Holdin’s author’s method allows you to take photographs during the day: “We took as a standard for conveying the color of Dionysius’s frescoes a sunny summer day, when the ocher flares up, lights up festively, and at the same time you can perceive this as a liturgical time, when the candles light up and the ocher is painted so warm golden color, and the blue and blue colors calm down a little. And only then did we start to succeed. But this work does not lie in the field of reproduction or in the field of photographic recording, because this is already an interior staged shooting. Of course, we worked with light, space and image, including the image of Dionysius’ compositions. That is, everything was important to us - the window, the frames, the screed, the floor, the door, and, of course, the frescoes.” This is a unique work, both artistic and scientific at the same time. The exceptionally high quality level of reproduction of the created material is associated with innovative developments in the field of physics of light and in the field of color science. Holdin himself always compared himself to a translator - translating from the language of icon painting into the language of light painting, that is, photography. And here, as in the work of any translator, the main thing is to achieve maximum artistic and semantic accuracy. Not a bit of retouching or, as they would say now, photoshop. Even the cracks are as if they were alive. In addition, the photographer, contrary to the art historical techniques of the 20th century, did not reproduce frescoes, but began to work with space.

Our Lady on the throne with the archangels Gabriel and Michael

Saint Nicholas of Myra

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary - northeastern part

First Ecumenical Council

Archangel Gabriel (fresco fragment " Annunciation ") - left; " Oh, All-Singing Mother"

"Annunciation"

"The Dream and Caress of Mary"

"Mary's Bath"

"Adoration of the Magi"

"He rejoices in You... "Virgin Mary with Saints

Marriage in Cana of Galilee

Great Martyr George

Righteous Joseph. Fragment of the fresco " Flight to Egypt"

I became acquainted with the works of Yuri Holdin at an exhibition in Kolomenskoye. To be honest, I didn’t immediately understand, or rather, realized that these were photographs. I leaned towards them to get a better look. A wild thought was spinning in my head: “Were they really taken off the wall and framed?” Looking at the too realistically presented Dionysius, you do not immediately understand that behind the photographic frescoes the enormous work of another master, through whose eyes we can now see the frescoes, is much more real than in the native walls of the cathedral. Those who have been there at least once understand how a half-hour excursion program is not enough to “embrace the immensity.” But you can go a long way and not get to the cathedral - at the opening of the exhibition in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' spoke about his own sad experience. In addition, the compositional accuracy and coloring of the photo frescoes, which create the effect of presence in the cathedral itself, now allows us to see a lot without perspective distortions. As an example, those who visited the Ferapont Monastery did not see such John the Baptist. This image is high, its visibility depends on the light, and the light depends on the time of day, year and weather. Holdin’s works provide an opportunity, unattainable in a museum, to see the frescoes as Dionysius himself saw them.

"The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins" . Section along the central longitudinal nave

Section along the central transverse nave - view to the west. After receiving the good news, Mary went to her mother’s sister Elizabeth, the wife of the priest Zechariah, the future mother of John the Baptist.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary - external painting of the western portal

Fragment of the northern wall of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

The work of Yuri Ivanovich Holdin was not an order and was not funded. His only support was his family, his wife, who did not complain (although she had to sacrifice a lot) to allow her husband to finish filming the ancient masterpiece. Holdin made no compromises when it came to the quality of both shooting and printing. He destroyed those prints that looked quite decent to an outsider, but, from his point of view, did not match the color of the frescoes in Ferapontov. The argument that this is a waste of money was not accepted at all. Each of his photographs is unique: from each frame there remains one author’s print. When applied to photography, this is a paradox. But Holdin was engaged not just in photography, but in translation from the language of icon painting to the language of light painting. A masterly and faithful translation. The skill of the photographer cannot be separated from a deep understanding of ancient Russian art. God knows how much time the artist devoted to developing a unique method of photographic reproduction of frescoes. All this will remain a secret to Yuri Holdin. He died while filming morning Moscow - on Sunday, July 29, 2007, at about five in the morning - he fell from the 11th floor of the building where he lived. The cornice on which the Master was standing collapsed...

I understand that there is a lot of text, but don’t be lazy, please read Guzel Agisheva’s article. You will get to know this amazing person and Master better.

There was such an ascetic, Yuri Holdin, who revealed to us the great Russian icon painter Dionysius - the author of the frescoes in the Ferapontov Monastery

The frescoes of Dionysius in the Ferapontov Monastery are 510 years old. Let's be honest: few people will get there. And even if he gets there, he won’t see much. They are allowed in for only 15 minutes, during which time even the most experienced person in icon painting with the keenest eyesight is not able to grasp the genius of Dionysius. But! There was such an ascetic, Yuri Holdin, who revealed Dionysius to us. And this is not an exaggeration. To appreciate his works, you need to come to the exhibition at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This exhibition continues to be supplemented with new works from the archives of the photographer and, with the blessing of the patriarch, will now be permanent.

In the early 1990s, Holdin was already a well-known personality - he had international awards for associative photography. I could do commercial photography and make money. But “everyone chooses a woman, a religion, a path for themselves.” He went to Solovki in 1992 to talk about the fate of Russia through the fate of the monastery. Filmed a large series about the “Solovetsky Golgotha” and the return of the monastery. Without waiting for understanding, he threw away a huge amount of work, managing to publish only a small album in Italy. Later, on a pilgrimage to the Russian north, I stopped with a friend, the poet Yuri Kublanovsky, at the Ferapontov Monastery. Does this happen by chance? I saw the frescoes of Dionysius in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and could no longer tear myself away from them. Ferapontov became the meaning of his life. For 12 years, until his tragic death, Yuri Ivanovich Holdin devoted Dionysius to how to show people this famous, but essentially unknown masterpiece to the world without distortion.

At that time, it was considered correct to shoot frescoes at night, under harsh frontal artificial lighting, to convey true color. Holdin destroyed this stereotype. He thought about what kind of light environment Dionysius could have kept in mind when painting the temple? I began to study how natural light affects our perception of space and color in the cathedral. Confirmation of his search came from Italy - along with the exhibition “Giotto in Padua”, which was brought to Russia in 2004. The Italians built a model of the chapel out of wood and covered it inside with photographs of Giotto's frescoes. Flat. Someone laughed at this and called it canned food. And Holdin already knew why this feeling arose. That’s why I set myself a super task: the feeling should be as if you find yourself in the single color space of a cathedral.

For a whole year I studied the murals, calculated the light in which the color of Dionysius was revealed most harmoniously, so that neither warm nor cold paint would dominate, so that the ocher would light up, and the cabbage roll would flicker, there would be no gaps and inevitable black shadows: And I found the only correct one for solving the task tuning fork: midday on a sunny day - that’s when Dionysius’s plan is fully revealed. Of course, this is the culmination of the Divine Liturgy! But daylight is very changeable, which means it is impossible to correctly convey color in daylight conditions? Holdin found his own narrow way to overcome this problem. It took seven years to solve the most complex technological problems of light and color rendering in order to give the viewer a feeling of otherworldliness of the images, of them floating in the light-air space of the temple. And in the end, as one priest-artist put it, “he showed Dionysius to the world without a single shadow of the earthly world.” His album “Through the Veil of Five Centuries” (2002) became an event of global significance. 300 compositions, or 700 “squares” of painting! Everything was here - volume, color, light, texture. In fact - a facsimile of Dionysius himself! By the way, about the facsimile: Dionysius did not sign his creations; this was not customary among ancient Russian icon painters. But in the Nativity of the Theotokos Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery he left a signature in the pier of the northern door of the temple: “And the scribes Deonisius the icon-maker with his children. O Lord Christ, King of all, deliver them, O Lord, from eternal torment.”

Holdin's exhibition works are unique - all experimental specimens with more than half a percent of color were destroyed by him. He was firm in his understanding of his responsibility for Dionysius: “There should be no marriage left after me.” Replicating Kholdin's works is the most difficult task. Believing that “digital” is just an intermediate information product, he used a slide, an object of the same water-based nature as the fresco itself, as the basis for shooting. And, scanning each time to the required size, he achieved a special ringing: to convey each composition without the slightest loss of quality, so that the viewer would have the feeling that he was seeing the fresco itself. And he achieved this - many come up and touch:

There were legends about Holdin's professional demands even during his lifetime. He irritated many people with it. Previously, art historians used words to describe what a potential viewer had to take on faith: an angel’s clothes are such and such a color, a wing is such and such: And here you go, here are the works of Dionysius, without the slightest distortion! If you go to the temple, you won’t see it like that: you don’t know what time of day they will let you in there, and even then for 15 minutes! And the Mont Blancs of candidate and doctoral theses, with their rituals and outright gags, which are usually called scientific interpretation, went to hell! Because one such smart “photographer” came and through 12 years of his earnest, ascetic work, guided by talent, intuition, insight, he turned the whole thing from head to foot.

By showing Dionysius, Holdin gave us unprecedented opportunities for research, and thanks to this breakthrough, the most interesting things have already been discovered. Not some trifles, but perhaps the most important thing in the icon painter’s work: we saw the luminous center of Dionysius’s works. In Soviet times - feel the difference - it was called the empty center! But it turned out that it was not empty at all, but luminous. For the main thing that the icon painter Dionysius sought was to convey the Divine Tabor light! Thus, the Favorian light of Dionysius’s creations was revealed to us five centuries later thanks to Holdin.

I’m watching filming from 2006 - Yuri Kholdin and Savva Yamshchikov are giving a press conference at the Tretyakov Gallery. Holdin is handsome, light, as if drawn with a feather, with an open, clear face. He speaks calmly, simply. And when a year later he fell from the 12th floor while filming, no one believed it was an accident. They talked about the unnatural flight path, and a criminal case was opened. But Katya, his wife and most faithful assistant, does not want to talk about it. She talks about his business with pleasure, laughs, remembering that she once complained to him about the lack of money, for everyday life, for the children: after all, almost all personal funds from the family budget for years went to the progress of the project. And in response, a saying from the New Testament appeared on the wall above her desk: “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” He believed that one must be prepared to receive God’s mercy. He was ready.

Guzel Agisheva

Article “The Second Coming of Dionysius.” Newspaper "Trud" from issue 169, November 20, 2012.