Creation of murals by Dionysius in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Ferapontov Monastery and unique frescoes of Dionysius. How the monastery was founded

In one of the remote areas of the Vologda region, near the city of Kirillov, there is an ancient monastery founded in the 14th century by the Moscow monk Ferapont. More than 600 years ago it arose from small chopped cells. Over time, surrounding lands began to be transferred to the monastery. Money flowed into the monastery treasury, with which new lands and villages were purchased, and craftsmen were also invited to build stone fortress walls, temples and other buildings. Many books were also purchased: the Ferapontov Monastery started a huge library, books copied to order were sent from here throughout Rus'.

At the very beginning of the 16th century, a team of painters appeared within the walls of the Ferapontov Monastery, painting the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. For more than four hundred years, the stone walls patiently preserved the colors of the frescoes, inscriptions and the memory of the masters who created them. One of them is Dionysius, whose name was read by scientists at the beginning of the 20th century. In my own way geographical location The cathedral was a wayside temple. At a time when, with the fall of Constantinople, a new trade route to the Russian state was being established, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the Ferapontov Monastery was precisely on this great route, passing through the White Sea along Onega and Sheksna. It was the first stone cathedral on this route and was quite suitable for fresco painting. Kargopol, located on the same Onega, was still a completely logged city, and there were no stone churches yet in the Solovetsky Monastery. The team of masters and apprentices (carpenters, plasterers, gesso makers, etc.) completed all the work assigned to them in just over two years.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

The iconography of the frescoes of the Ferapont Cathedral in many ways has no precedent in the wall paintings of Russian churches. Never before, for example, has there been an image of John the Baptist on the altar, there have been no images of Ecumenical Councils and much more. Some researchers (in particular, G. Chugunov) believe that the akathist to the Mother of God also first appeared in Ferapontovo. In Greek and South Slavic churches, the entire life of Mary was usually depicted, starting from the “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” and ending with her “Assumption.” If an akathist to the Mother of God was included in the painting, it usually occupied an insignificant place somewhere in the aisles of churches. Dionysius creates a painting glorifying Mary, a painting similar to the chants that were composed in her honor. Of course, Dionysius did not arbitrarily introduce into the frescoes many subjects that had not been depicted before him. To take such a bold step, he had to see the previous paintings, and not just hear about them, and he could only see them on Athos. But Dionysius’s solution to many gospel stories also differs from those at Athos. At that time there were no strict canons, and Dionysius could take advantage of this circumstance. For example, he independently tried to comprehend some of the provisions of Christianity, in particular, about the life of the Mother of God. What was the main goal for previous painters became a secondary goal for Dionysius. The main task for him is the akathist to the Mother of God, her glorification, therefore the entire large cycle of paintings in the Nativity Church appears as a single hymn: “Rejoice!”

The frescoes created by Dionysius should be considered as an integral part of the architecture of the Nativity Cathedral itself. Its entire internal space - from the dome to the base - is filled with shining paintings. Dionysius willingly gives himself vivid impressions life, he can revel in the colorful patterns of precious brocade, the bright colors of overseas silks, the shine of semi-precious stones.

“The Marriage in Cana of Galilee,” for example, appears to him as a joyful feast. The cathedrals and towers that frame numerous painting scenes remind the viewer of the architectural monuments of Moscow and Vladimir. The rhythmic construction of scenes and the movement of figures speak of the artist’s powers of observation and genius, and Dionysius always translates his life impressions into the realm of beautiful and sublime poetry. Even the most ordinary characters - servants filling vessels with wine, or blind beggars feeding on meager alms - acquire a special nobility and dignity in the frescoes.

Marriage in Cana of Galilee

In the center of the cathedral, in the dome, Christ the Pantocrator is depicted.

According to many researchers, this image is reminiscent of the “Pantocrator” from the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, but this connection is felt purely externally - in the arrangement of the hands and the Gospel. The essence of Ferapont's Christ the Pantocrator is very different from Novgorod's. In Ferapontovo, Christ the Pantocrator does not have that formidable and unyielding will, like the Novgorod Pantocrator.

On the north side of the cathedral, the Virgin Mary sits on a throne, surrounded by archangels, and at the foot of the throne crowds of mortals are crowded, chanting the “Queen of Peace.” On the southern side, a host of singers glorify Mary, as in her womb she bore deliverance to the captives.”

On west side instead of the “Assumption”, more usual for South Slavic churches, the composition of “The Last Judgment” is depicted, in which Mary is glorified as the intercessor of the entire human race. In the eastern lunette of the temple, the Mother of God is depicted in a purely Russian, national spirit - as the patroness and defender of the Russian state. She stands with a “veil” in her hands against the backdrop of the walls of ancient Vladimir, which in those years was a symbol of the religious and political unity of Rus'. Mary is no longer surrounded by singers or saints, but by Russian people.

Protection of Our Lady

The cathedral was painted by Dionysius and his comrades not only inside, but partly also outside. On the western facade there is a well-preserved fresco that greeted those entering the temple and gave the right direction to his thoughts and feelings (later a porch was built in this part of the cathedral, and the painting ended up inside the temple).

The painting is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and consists of three belts: the upper one is the Deesis, the middle one is the scenes of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the Caress of Mary by Joachim and Anna, the lower one is the archangels. To the right of the portal is Gabriel holding a scroll on which is written “The angel of the Lord will write the names of those entering the temple.”

The portal fresco is a kind of prelude to the painting of the cathedral, because the akathist to the Virgin Mary begins here. Before Dionysius, other artists interpreted the plot of “The Nativity of the Virgin Mary” as a purely family scene in the house of Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents. Dionysius also left genre details dictated by the very content of the painting, and at the same time, his frescoes differ sharply from the works of his predecessors. In the middle tier of the paintings, Dionysius placed not scenes from the life of Mary, but illustrations to the twenty-four songs of the akathist to the Mother of God. Here the artist was least bound by canons, and from under his brush came images that were completely original. He did not show the violent movements of the human soul; the artist is drawn to reflection, to an original interpretation of traditional gospel themes.

Caress and Mary

For example, Anna and the elderly Joachim, who learned that his wife was expecting a baby. Usually other masters portrayed this scene as full of dramatic explanations. Joachim rushed to his wife, and Anna responded to him with no less expressive gestures. Dionysius doesn’t even have anything similar. His Joachim already knows about the “immaculate” conception, he reverently bows before the newborn Mary, extending his hand to her and repeating the gesture usual for “immature”. Anna in Dionysius’s fresco makes no attempt to stand up or reaches for food. Filled with dignity and humble grace, she sits on the bed, and the woman standing behind the bed not only does not help Anna get up, but does not even dare to touch the cover of the one who gave birth to the future mother of Christ. The woman to the right of the bed does not just hand Anna a bowl of food, but solemnly offers it. And this golden cup, receiving a special semantic meaning, becomes the center of the entire composition. Dionysius shows the viewer that what is before him is not the usual everyday vanity that accompanies the birth of a child, but the fulfillment of a sacred sacrament.

Nativity of the Virgin Mary

The images of all the characters from the life of Mary are filled by Dionysius with extraordinary spiritual delicacy. Their movements are smooth, gestures are only outlined, but not completed, participants in many scenes only indicate touching, but do not touch each other. This applies, for example, to the scene "Mary's Bathing". The compositional center of this part of the fresco is the golden font. Women bathing a newborn do not dare to touch her, and the one who brought Anna a gift holds it carefully, like a vessel with incense.

Bathing Mary

Researchers noted that the soft rounded contours of one shape are repeated in another; all the figures are painted lightly and picturesquely, as if they were weightless and hovering above the ground. The frescoes of the cathedral are distinguished by their tenderness, muted and lightened colors, soft color transitions, they lack contrasts and sharp comparisons. Experts (though not all) believe that when painting the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, Dionysius deliberately “replaced” the red tone with pink or pale crimson, green with light green, yellow with straw yellow, blue with turquoise, so his colors almost lost their power and the masculinity inherent in his works of an earlier period.

In the vault of the southwestern pillar of the Nativity Cathedral there is a composition depicting Jesus Christ and the Moscow Metropolitans Peter and Alexei. Below them, near a pond, are a gray-haired old man, an elderly woman and two young men. Antiquity expert S.S. Churakov hypothesized that the reservoir symbolizes the source of “God’s bounties”, and the people receiving them constitute one family - husband, wife and their sons. Perhaps Dionysius depicted himself and his family here, because his two sons, Vladimir and Theodosius, worked with him in Ferapontovo.

S.S. Churakov believes that real people were introduced by Dionysius into another composition. Thus, in the scene of the Last Judgment, among the Fryazins (foreigners), the artist depicted the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who built the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. And indeed, this portrait is very expressive: the head of the person depicted is somewhat thrown back, a large forehead, a nose with a characteristic hump, brown eyes, a shaved face, a bald skull... The viewer is presented with a middle-aged man, independent, wise with experience and knowledge, who does not bow even to overlords. For now, this is just a hypothesis, which may be answered by future research.

Text by Nadezhda Ionina

Arriving in Kirillov, Vologda region, do not miss the chance to see unique frescoes Dionysius, which are almost completely preserved in the Feropontov Monastery. I prefer to visit famous monasteries with a guide, so the day before we agreed with a local private guide, who agreed to show several interesting sights, and, of course, the monastery.

In the morning we met with the guide Lydia in the center of Kirillov and went in our car to travel around Kirillov. The drive from the city to the monastery took no more than half an hour, during which they listened to the history of the monastery and got acquainted with the museum’s exhibits in absentia from a book, because outside guides are not allowed to conduct excursions on the territory of the Ferapontov Monastery. Of course, we could take a guide on the spot, but then we wouldn’t have a full-fledged program.

Around the monastery you can admire Russian nature; I can imagine what a stunning picture it is here in the summer.

It is worth saying that visiting the Feropontov Monastery is not a cheap pleasure. Taking into account that we did not take a tour from the monastery guides, we paid about 800 rubles per person for entrance to the museum, watching a film and the right to look at the frescoes. We were the only visitors, and at the checkout our guide tried to very transparently hint that we shouldn’t be charged the full amount, but rules are rules. I was amazed by the fact that we had to check with the caretakers how long we could look at the frescoes. Usually they allow no more than 10 minutes (and this costs a lot of money), but we were lucky - they didn’t impose a time limit.

Frescoes of Dionysius

At the end of the 15th century, a stone Cathedral of the Nativity was erected on the territory of the monastery. Holy Mother of God, which, by the way, was seven years earlier than in the neighboring Belozersky Monastery, which was much richer.

The cathedral was painted by Dionysius, a famous master icon painter in Rus'. For example, his hand touched the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The master's style is easily recognizable thanks to its bright colors, elongated, light figures, and smooth lines. Dionysius is one of the most famous temple artists in Rus', along with Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev. Thanks to the work of the master and the wonderful preservation of art, the monastery was included in the list World Heritage under the protection of UNESCO.

The paintings occupy an area of ​​more than 700 square meters. meters, and this is almost the entire internal surface of the cathedral. Only certain parts of the paintings that were damaged during the reconstruction of the iconostasis were not preserved. In general, the frescoes made the Ferapontov Monastery famous throughout the world, since it is the only one where the original frescoes of the early 16th century have been fully preserved.

Before entering you will be given a plan diagram of the frescoes, with the help of which the painting can be “read” even by a less-prepared person.

You can read about paints and painting technology before entering.

In addition to painting the temple in the Feropontov Monastery, you can watch an introductory film about the frescoes and visit the museum, which houses a number of interesting exhibits.

Ferapontov Monastery Museum

First we went to the museum, which is a large hall.

For example, here you can see a reconstruction of a monk’s cell according to the rules of Kirill Belozersky, which does not even have a bed.

In the cell, no one was allowed to have anything other than the most necessary things; they were not allowed to call anything their own, but everything was shared. Even a piece of bread was not allowed to be kept in the cell, and there were also no drinks. If a monk wanted to eat or drink, he went to the refectory, where, with blessing, he could quench his hunger and thirst.

In the far corner there is a sample of a fraternal refectory.

In the refectory, each novice sat in his place according to the rank of seniority with meekness and silence, and no one could be heard, only the reader. They were given three meals each, except for fasting days, on which the monks either refused to eat at all or subsisted on bread and water.

Behind the glass windows you can find a copy of the Cathedral Code of 1649.

Here you can see the icon of Patriarch Nikon, who was in these parts during the period of exile.

This is supposedly a piece of tile from Nikon’s cell.

Of course, the exhibition shows the ceremonial attire of the priests.

And here is the Abbess’s workplace.

About the foundation of the monastery

Ferapontov Monastery was founded in 1398. The monastery was named after the founder Ferapont, who before staying here was a novice in the Simonov Moscow Monastery, and then even became one of the founders of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. To find greater solitude, Ferapont went further and settled on a small hill near Lake Borodavskoye.

Here Fepapont built a small wooden cell for himself and lived in solitude through his labors and prayers. But one day robbers came to him and demanded that he give them the treasure or leave this place (surprisingly, how similar this is to ordinary racketeering). True, the Monk Ferapont was not afraid of them and shamed them, so much so that the robbers left and no longer disturbed the elder.

People began to come to Ferapont and ask permission to settle nearby. This is how a small settlement arose, about ten people. But the Monk Ferapont refused to become hegumen and the newly created monastery was headed by another man, whose name history has not preserved. But Ferapont assigned himself the most menial jobs, since he called himself a “great sinner.” He carried water, chopped wood, and cleaned stoves. By the way, this is exactly how Sergius of Radonezh lived, who was the mentor of the Monk Ferapont.

Ten years later, a church was erected here, which was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It seemed that everything was turning out the way Elder Ferapont wanted: he lived in silence and repentance, prayed, worked, but soon he had to leave the monastery. The Mozhaisk prince wanted to found a similar monastery nearby and asked the Monk Ferapont to help him with this. The reverend elder did not want to start all over again, but humility is a virtue that Christians should have, so Ferapont humbled himself. But at that time he was already seventy years old. It is worth noting that the reverend elder stayed in the Luzhetsky Mozhaisk Monastery for another twenty years; there is a Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary here, as in Feropontovo, where the elder is buried. Despite the fact that Ferpont spent the last twenty years in another place, he is remembered and revered as the Belozersky elder. Around the monastery dear to his heart on Lake Borodavskoye a village was formed, which to this day is called Ferapontovo, part of Lake Ferapontovsky, and the monastery that grew up on the site of the first cells was named Ferapontovo.

It is interesting that the Ferapontovsky Monastery always remained in the shadows, as if in the background, but at the same time the monastery had a very great spiritual influence. There have been kings, princes, famous people and everyone found peace and answers to troubling questions here.

After the Monk Ferapont left the monastery, Prince Mozhaisky sent the promised help here, but there was no confessor who could properly manage the funds received. Years passed, abbots changed, but the Ferapontov Monastery remained the same as during the life of its founder. But then the Monk Martinian, a disciple of Kirill Belozersky, abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, came to the monastery. Reverend Martinian came to this Holy place a simple pilgrim, but his brothers persuaded him to stay here and become the abbot of the Ferapontov Monastery.

In the 15th century, bloody events took place, which, although they took place in Moscow five hundred kilometers away, were reflected in the Ferapontov Monastery. In Moscow there was a struggle for the grand-ducal throne and the then Prince Vasily II was overthrown by Dmitry Shemyaka. They took an oath on the cross from him that he would not oppose the new prince, and he was singled out. Vasily, who was nicknamed the Dark One because he was blind, came to bow and pray at the Ferapontov Monastery. Here the Monk Martinian freed Vasily from this oath and even blessed him to speak out against the invader, who illegally sat on the grand-ducal throne. The support of the church in those days was of great importance, so many supporters joined Vasily the Dark, which sealed Shemyaka’s fate; he had to flee urgently.

Grand Duke Vasily summoned the Monk Martinian to the capital and asked him to take the abbess at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. And despite the fact that Martinian did not want to leave Ferapontovo, he, like his predecessor Ferapont, had to take the position of abbot in another monastery.

After some time, the Monk Martinian returned to his dear monastery in Ferapontovo and began to arrange the arrangement. And for the next twenty years, he arranged everything here so diligently that everyone was amazed. Here he rested in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Church of the Annunciation with a refectory was erected, which was built in honor of the birth of Tsarevich John, who went down in history as Ivan the Terrible. Around the same time, the Treasury Chamber was built - a unique civil building on the territory of the monastery. There were rooms for books, barns, and a hiding place for the monastery treasury.

In the Ferapontov Monastery you can see a lot of interesting and unique things, but before you enter the walls of the holy monastery, you will pass through the Holy Gate. It is worth noting that the stone walls, arches, gate churches of Ferapont and Epiphany, and even the windows, have not changed since the day of construction. The floors in the churches are covered with small tiles, the vaults are supported by oak beams that have already darkened with time, and black altars.

The fate of the Ferapontov Monastery is similar to many other monasteries that have experienced Soviet times, it was closed. But, fortunately, it did not suffer the fate of being a state farm; the Ferapontov Monastery was transferred to a museum and today it is under the protection of UNESCO. But prayers are still heard here - the Nikon Church is given over to the brethren for worship.

When you arrive in Kirillov, you will understand the connection between several holy places located around: Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery , Nillo-Sora desert , Feropontov Monastery and Goritsky convent, to which we headed further (read about it).

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

Museum opening hours:

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
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Lifshits L. I. The theme “Entrance to the House of Wisdom” in the painting of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery. - Mr. historical and cultural museum-reserve Moscow Kremlin. Materials and Research, XI. Russian artistic culture of the 15th–16th centuries. M., 1998, p. 174–195.

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”).

Naumova M. M. Medieval colors. M., 1998, p. 47–53 (Colors of the murals of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Ferapontovo).

Photo: Nativity Cathedral of Ferapontov Monastery

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. For this reason alone they have unique value, not to mention the fact that their master wrote, 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 World Heritage List cultural heritage UNESCO are included in the State Code of Especially Valuable Objects of 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 most significant works of the master in last years became the art album “Through the Veil of Five Centuries: An Intimate Meeting 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 photograph 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.