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6^th CENTURY AND 7^th Century Frescoes and Murals

Two Armenian churches; Church of Saint Gregory in Arudsh and Church of Saint Stephen in Lmbat contained the best preserved medieval Armenian frescoes. A great number of medieval frescoes rapidly deteriorated through the ages because of neglect, lack of funds, constant attacks by Muslims and non Christian countries from Asia Minor and the Middle East. The invasions of Armenia by the Mongols, Arab, Turks and Persians prevented the Armenians from taking care of their frescoes, maintaining them in good condition and furthermore from painting new ones. Unfortunately, Almost all the frescoes of pre-Christian Armenia vanished except one block of a fresco-mosaic uncovered under the floor of a Greco-Roman bath at the Temple of Gerni. Fortunately, a great number of Christian frescoes survived but, not a considerable  number from the early Christian era. 

The art of frescoes in Armenia was seriously interrupted by the invading Ottomans. And the Arabs did cause a severe halt to Armenian art of frescoes under the pretext that those “blasphemous” drawings were nothing but the product of the “infidels” and consequently, they must be destroyed for good. Armenian artists and artisans were not at liberty to continue their craft. Yet, a small number of them managed to produce splendid frescoes and mosaics in the secrecy of monasteries located in remote and mountainous areas. This was in a sharp contrast with Greeks and Romans who encouraged Armenian artists and artisans to persevere in their arts and crafts, including but not limited to stone carving, lace making, leather manufacturing, candles production, mosaics and frescoes painting. The art of Armenian frescoes came back to life in the early 10^th century and continued to develop throughout the 11^th century. The resurrection of the Armenian art of frescoes in those two centuries took place and time under a free Armenian kingdom which was restored and reigned during the 11^th and 12^th centuries.

BETWEEN 921 and 930 A.D.

Between 920 and 930, a good number of frescoes was produced and a greater number of churches began to enjoy some of the finest frescoes ever produced. Two churches in particular, the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Peter  in Tatev and the Church of The Holy Cross in Akhtamar were delightfully decorated with splendid frescoes depicting several passages of Jesus Christ life and scenes where He has been surrounded by John, Luke, Mark and Matthew.

Other frescoes were characterized by religious symbolism which represented the evangelists with animal figures. For instance, Matthew was represented by a holy man, John was represented by an eagle, Luke was represented by a calf and Mark was represented by a lion. In addition to their religious symbolism, a mixture of an early Christian surrealism mythology and  prophetic biblical visions added innovative dimensions and artistic levels to the meaning and composition of early frescoes. Those early masterpieces in content and concept shined through colors limpidity and serene composition uncluttered with complicated religious or cult  motifs and thick borders which defined for a long time in history the characteristic features of early Armenian arts. Later on, this religious symbolism will become more frequent in the illuminated manuscripts paintings of Toros Roslin and painters of the era.

Frescoes depicting Saint Peter and  Saint Paul,  Tatev Monastery, 930. Photo by Patrick Donabedian

 MEDIEVAL ARMENIA

pThe Annunciation sculpture bas-relief at Ani. Photo: Courtesy of Virtual Ani

t Ruins of a Georgian Church at Ani

Medieval Armenia witnessed the glory and prosperity of the city of Ani, its capital which was the heart of arts and culture, particularly mosaic, frescoes and painting. Frequently referred to as the city of 1,001 churches.

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