Synthesis of arts in the ancient Russian church

старший викладач кафедри образотворчого мистецтва, музикознавства та культурології Сумського державного педагогічного університету імені А.С. Макаренка

Синтез мистецтв у давньоруському храмі

У статті проаналізовано гармонійне поєднання провідних видів образотворчого мистецтва у процесі формування храмового простору на теренах стародавньої Русі. Мета статті - визначити наявність синтезу візуальних мистецтв та обґрунтувати їх взаємодію в інтер'єрі давньоруського храму. Методологічною основою дослідження заявленої проблеми є загальнонаукові методи, зокрема систематизації та узагальнення. Наукова новизна роботи полягає у здійсненні спроби виявити взаємодію провідних видів візуальних мистецтв у декоруванні інтер'єру давньоруського храму, таких як: мозаїчний живопис, фресковий розпис, іконопис, скульптура. У роботі авторами систематизовано відомості з теорії, історії і практики різних за своєю природою візуальних мистецтв, визначено їх взаємодію у формуванні храмового інтер'єру в стародавній Русі, що відповідає меті створення храму: забезпечення проведення релігійного дійства, яке власне є основою, навколо якого і заради якого об'єднані всі види мистецтв у православному храмі. Авторами закцентовано увагу на тому, що провідні види образотворчого мистецтва не лише присутні при формуванні церковного інтер'єру, а й тісно взаємодіють між собою у проведенні Богослужіння східної церкви. У висновках зазначено, що для формування храмового інтер'єру велике значення відіграє обґрунтоване поєднання різновидів образотворчого мистецтва в єдине ціле та формування на основі такого поєднання цілісного архітектурно-художнього образу. Відносно інтер'єру давньоруського храму синтез образотворчих мистецтв втілює композиційну єдність архітектури, скульптури, живопису та інших видів візуальних мистецтв, які нерозривно поєднані у визначеному архітектурному просторі. Таке поєднання різних за своєю природою видів образотворчого мистецтва можливе за наявності в них загальних властивостей при збереженні притаманних їм рис.

Ключові слова: давньоруська церква, архітектурно-художній образ, декорування храмового простору, мозаїка, фреска, іконопис, скульптура.

Main part

Introduction. Interest in Old Russian church art, as well as its aesthetic understanding, has existed since the emergence of monumental art in Russia. Saved monumental works of the past have not lost their aesthetic value today and continue to influence the inner world of man with his aesthetic organization.

The practical purpose of ancient historical objects may change - ideology and worldview may be a thing of the past, but the aesthetic value can not only be preserved but also increase, being filled with new content.

At first glance, the interior of the temple shows that their artistic and architectural image was influenced by a large number of visual kinds of art. In addition to majestic mosaics and frescoes made in various styles and techniques, the churches can be seen as reliefs and sculptures, icons, miniatures, decorative items, which also contribute to the expressiveness of the architectural and artistic image of church interiors. All kinds of visual arts of the period under study are not only present in the formation of the church interior but also interact closely with each other.

Analysis of research. Such scientists as D. Ain - alov, F. Buslaev, A. Kirpichnikov, N. Kondakov, M. Pokrovsky, D. Rovinsky, G. Filimonov, and others made a great contribution to the beginning of research work on the study of iconography. In Soviet times, V. Lazarev's art school continued to study ancient Russian and Byzantine fine arts. Both clergymen, in particular Metropolitan A. Sheptytsky, and scholars and art critics P. Zholtovsky, J. Krekhovetsky, I. Sventsitsky, D. Stepovyk, and others addressed the understanding of images in the religious tradition and fine arts of Ukraine.

Among the thorough studies of the history of ancient Russian art should be noted the works of M. Alpatov, Y. Aseev, Y. Alsufev, O. Anisimov, Y. Dmitriev, M. Pokrovsky, M. Pertsev, O. Svirin. Scholars A. Vasiliev, I. Duychev, M. Sumtsov paid attention to the development of monumental painting in churches; D. Stepovik, F. Umantsev considered icon painting in detail.

Special mention should be made of the works of V. Rannev, who studied the visual arts in the Orthodox Temple, and P. Chemerinsky, who described the basic concepts of the Liturgy, this is the basis around which all the arts in the Orthodox Temple are united.

The article aim is to determine the presence in the ancient Russian temple of the synthesis of fine arts, and not its individual types.

Main material. First of all, it should be noted that in the interior of the first brick churches there were no sculptures or frescoes. Architecture coped with the task at hand: the architectural forms used to shape the interior and interior of the church carried a great emotional load and a hidden connotation so that they did not need the help of other arts. The clean bleached lines of the interior were more understandable than the complex forms of later times. The essence of architecture was manifested in emotional expression, says scientist V. Rannev, and to strengthen it later began to come to the aid of other arts, the use of which contributed to the creation of a real ensemble.

This synthesizing creative activity is characterized by specific features and patterns. The concept of synthesis as one opposes the mechanical association of objects into a conglomerate (Rannev, 1987). With the further development of church construction, the interior of the temples became somewhat more complicated, not only due to the enrichment of the form itself - the shell but also due to various types of decor, which took on the role of the meaningful accent of the church interior. The placement of the plots met the requirements of the canon of the Byzantine tradition. Thus, in the central vault there was always an image of the Almighty, in the drum - the apostles, in the sails - the Evangelists, in the altar - the Eucharist, and on the west wall - a picture of the Last Judgment. Established, strictly, and regulated principles of decorative decoration of the interior of the temple contributed to the typological stability and canonicity of plots and compositional schemes. Each object in the temple was endowed with a certain, unique essence, which was an integral part of the general meaning of the liturgical rite, and had its function, which revealed its symbolic, meaningful, and aesthetic significance - played a role in worship, says P. Chemerinsky. In particular, numerous paintings of ornamental and plot characters performed a dual function (Chemerinsky, 1996):

- first - the plots, their choice and thematic solution, compositional schemes, forms, and size depended on the clearly regulated role they played in the general liturgical action; it is this aspect of the life of paintings with the greatest force revealed their pictorial, visual role;

- secondly, the paintings had a decorative function, as precious ornaments in the overall festive and sublime structure of the interior of the church; they were closely connected with the general artistic and stylistic orientation of the interior decoration with the architectural solution of the temple space, emphasizing its compositional structure.

It should be noted that due to the highly developed technique of glassmaking, on its basis, in the XXIII centuries in the Kyiv state were able to develop and achieve an exceptionally high level of skill both technically and artistically, related industries: mosaic-smalt, decorative-ceramic and enamel. The high level of technical and artistic skill achieved by Kyiv masters in these techniques was so high that it not only surpassed in many respects the level reached by these types of skills in Western Europe but also served as a model for further improvement. No wonder Theophilus in his treatise notes the need for Western European masters to «study» their recorded methods of production of enamel «discovered by Russia» (Aseev, 1980).

No less high at this time was the art of mosaic painting, and, in particular, the skill of making mosaic smalt, both from muted colored glass and from translucent and transparent smalt, including gold and silver smalt, made by Kyiv masters from materials of local origin. Palette of Kyiv smalt, with the help of which mosaic floors outstanding in their artistic and technical mastery were created (in St. Sophia Cathedral and the Tithe Church of Kyiv at the end of the 10th century, in St. Michael's Cathedral of Vydubychi Monastery). The mosaic painting of the floor of the Kyiv St. Sophia Cathedral and the Golden-Domed Cathedral of St. Michael's Monastery was distinguished by the exceptional variety and richness of its color tones and shades. Most likely, the mosaic floors in the ancient temples of Chernihiv and Pereyaslav Pivdenny were also made of smalt made by Kyiv smalt makers, Yu. Aseev (Aseev, 1980) emphasizes.

According to the research of G. Wagner and V. Vladyshevskaya, ancient Russian mosaic painting of the X-XII centuries can be divided into two types: mosaic floors, which are fragmented to this day in a number of temples of this era in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and other ancient cities of Kievan Rus, and mosaic paintings that decorated the walls, arches, and domes of ancient Russian temples of the X-XII centuries, for example the ensemble that has come down to us in the form of mosaics of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, fragments of mosaics of the Golden-Domed Cathedral of St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv. An important element of the decoration were mosaic ornaments on the walls, pillars, window arches, which have a plant character and resemble an ornament of lush miniatures (Wagner, Vladishevskaya, 1993).

The first mosaic images were made in the Tithe Church in Kyiv, but they have not survived. Construction and decoration of the Tithe Church started the Kyiv School of Architecture, Construction, and Art.

If the central part of the church was decorated with expensive mosaics, first of all, the altar then the interior of the monumental buildings was mainly decorated with frescoes, which did not require such expensive materials as, for example, frescoes, was easier to perform and at the same time had a huge artistic effect. That is why fresco painting gradually became the most widely used type of interior decoration of temple significantly changing the nature of the decorative decoration of the temple space.

Translated from Italian, the word «fresco» «means» «fresh», «wet», because it is a painting on a wet plastered wall with paints that are diluted with water. As it dries, the lime blends tightly with the colored layer. It is possible to write on the dried lime plaster. Then it is moistened for the second time, and the paints are pre-mixed with lime. With this technique, artists painted the walls of cathedrals, temples, and churches. It should be noted that the painting of the temple began only a year after its construction. This was done to ensure that the walls dried well. In addition, the painting usually began to perform in the spring and tried to complete within one season (Lazarev, 1978).

As Yu. Aseev notes, the fresco harmonizes perfectly with the structures and texture of brick walls and vaults, emphasizing their surface. It makes it possible to paint in any color combination because light frescoes are especially suitable for darkened rooms (Aseev, 1980).

Remarkable symbolic significance in fresco painting has always belonged to the color scheme. From here it becomes clear why Byzantine painting is so light-bearing as if flowing from the inside of the frescoes. In the territory of Ancient Russia-Ukraine, this tendency, superimposed on the local tradition of the people's worldview, flourished, embodied in the pure sonorous colors of the lush blooms of generous nature, change beyond recognition, softening the memory of distant pantheistic paganism (1978). Perhaps that is why Ukrainian art culture has been able to preserve and carry through the ages of religious spirituality based on Orthodoxy, sometimes even in the most difficult conditions. Medieval religious philosophy denied the materialism of antiquity, considering everything corporeal low and sinful, unworthy of image. Only the Divine, which expresses the higher spiritual essence of nature and man, was worthy of the art's attention. Therefore, a feature of medieval art, subject to religious ideology, was its complete focus on the spiritual side of life (Lapshina, 2011).

For the people of the Middle Ages, the purely utilitarian function of things was not of great value, and the material components (shape, line, color) were used primarily for symbolic sound. It was believed that the construction of the Christian temple, every detail, every stone expressed certain semantic association, and a huge burden in this context was borne by the fresco.

Fresco painting required a good lime mortar, a set of paints, mostly mineral, and very high skill of painters. The frescoes were made of both wet and dry plaster, they combined perfectly with the texture of the stone walls and had an extremely rich color.

The interiors of the first stone ancient Russian temples were painted by Byzantine masters who not only followed the canon but also took into account local traditions and tastes (Lazarev, 1978). The Assumption Cathedral of the Pechersk Monastery, St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral, and the Church of the Savior on Berestov in Kyiv were also decorated with monumental paintings. From the middle of the 12th century, original art schools were established in the principalities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Pereyasl, Halych, and Volyn. Gradually, fresco painting almost completely supplanted wall mosaics from the design of the temple space. Ancient Russian frescoes have survived to this day in the sacred buildings of Kyiv and Chernihiv and other ancient Russian cities.

If mosaics and frescoes marked the triumph of Christianity, icons were worshiped and prayed. The task of icon painting is to «embody the word», to embody Christian doctrine in images. Initially, icons were imported from Byzantium, and from the second half of the XI century at the ancient monasteries began to work fruitfully and their own icon-painting workshops. And although in those days' painters did not sign their works, but left only signs of belonging to the icon of a particular studio, to this day the names of some Russian icon painters have survived. The most famous of them are Gregory and Olympias, which lived at the turn of the XI and XII centuries at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - one of the largest centers of contemporary iconography (Stepovik, 2000).

No less important art of ancient Russian culture is sculpture, which was also quite brightly represented in the temple interiors. Because the Eastern Christian Church, in pursuit of pagan beliefs, did not support the development of three-dimensional temple sculpture, plastic art developed in the form of reliefs. It is worth noting - if the painting was located in pre-al - located areas and had a narrative and thematic character, the sculpture, on the contrary, had a decorative character, which was based on decorating the surface of the form to overcome its monotony, scale, the introduction of articulation and creation of elegance using of plastics which are called to reveal tectonic elements, to emphasize their plasticity, accent value in a composition, or to create independent expressiveness. According to D. Antonovich, sculpture, diverse in technique and motives, resembles in some cases flat wood carvings, in others - artistic casting, and each time surprises and amazes the viewer with vigorous twists and geometrized forms (Antonovich, 1993). Among the monuments of artistic stone carving, which decorated the ancient Russian temples, the most attention is drawn to the plates, made in the technique of ornamental and thematic relief. Only a few slate slabs with floral ornaments and plot compositions and a marble sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise have survived from the former richness of Kyiv's stone carvings. The most interesting are the bas-reliefs on slates of red slate, including from the Church of the Assumption of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery and two of the cathedrals of the Dmitrov Monastery. This sculpture played a leading role in the formation of national traditions of stone carving, developed in the art of Vladimir-Suzdal and Galicia. A significant connection with the architectural form inevitably gives the sculpture or painting features different from the easel work, which is manifested in the concept of «monumental and decorative» art. It is the synthesis of arts - monumental and decorative - primarily serves the main purpose - to strengthen the influence of architectural form, says V. Rannev. They are no longer just sculpture or painting, the author emphasizes, they are part of one, much larger, which combines all the properties that were inherent in them before, they are part of the architectural space. It is in the creation of a holistic architectural image, which uses the synthesis of arts, in addition to their ideological and substantive kinship, it is important to be organic in their inclusion in the architectural and compositional structure (Rannev, 1987). Thus, in the church interior, everything is subject to cultic action, every part of the interior, every element of decoration, every icon has its place and its certain role.

So, concerning the interior of the temple, the synthesis of fine arts implies the compositional unity of architecture, sculpture, painting, and other types of visual arts, which must be inextricably linked in a certain architectural space. Such a combination of different in-nature visual arts is possible if they have common properties while maintaining their inherent features. The monumental building, combined with other artistic and spiritual values, became a «book of life», which embodied the idea of the universe and man in it.

Thus, the analysis of the fusion of varieties of fine arts in the ancient Russian temple provided an opportunity to realize its significance for world civilization in general and for the Orthodox world in particular.

Conclusions. Summarizing the above, we can state that:

- the leading types of fine arts in decorating the interior of the ancient Russian temple were: mosaic, sculpture, fresco painting, and icon painting;

- the formation of a holistic architectural and artistic image of the ancient Russian temple is carried out on the basis of a reasonable synthesis of the leading types of fine arts;

- for the formation of the temple interior is important not the number of decor or icons, but the logical and harmonious combination of different types of fine arts in a single system, which is subject to the purpose of the temple.

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