Theophanes the Greek (ca. 1330-ca.1410)
Theophanes the Greek (ca. 1330-ca.1410)
Theophanes the Greek is believed to have been
born in the 1330's and to have died sometime between 1405
and 1409. He had been well read in religious literature and
art before his arrival in Novgorod around 1378. During his
self-contained, quiet, short-lived stay in Novgorod, Theophanes
painted famous murals in the church of Transfiguration on
the Ilyin Street. His works are also present in the Church-on-Volotovo-Field
and in the Cathedral of St. Theodore Stratilates. After working
in Kostroma in 1390, Theophanes moved to Moscow in 1395 as
it was entering a new stage of history attempting to lead
Russia to unification of divided lands and to the end of the
Mongol yoke. Theophanes' first Muscovite work was the Book
of Gospels of Boyar Koshka, for which he painted miniatures
and which would later be used as the basis of the Khitrovo
Gospels. Although Theophanes must have painted many icons
throughout his life, scholars believe that the following nine
are indisputably his: The Dormition of the Virgin, The Virgin
of the Don (both 1392) and The Saviour in Glory, The Virgin,
St. John Chrysostom, Archangel Gabriel, St. Paul, St. Basil,
and St. John the Evangelist, all of which were painted in
1405 for the Deesis tier in Moscow's Cathedral of the Annunciation.
The fame of Theophanes in Moscow was so great
that Epiphanios the Wise, a famous 14th-15th-century writer
who knew the painter well, felt compelled to describe in a
letter to his friend the master's method of work, apparently
quite extraordinary at the time: "When he was drawing
or painting . . ., nobody saw him looking at existing examples,
as would do some of our icon painters, who would constantly
stare at them with amazement, looking here and there, doing
less of actual painting than looking at examples. He, on the
contrary, appeared to paint his frescoes with his hands while
walking back and forth, talking to the visitors, considering
inwardly what was lofty and wise and seeing the inner goodness
with the eyes of his inner feelings."
Theophanes had invited Andrei Rublev to assist
him in the painting of the murals for the Annunciation Cathedral,
and in the process had done wonders to develop Rublev's genius.
However, Rublev would later break away from Theophanes' dramatic
severity of form, color, and expression, and become one of
the greatest masters of Russian icon painting. Theophanes'
beautiful colors and pure forms made him a remarkable artist
who played a great role in laying the foundations of mature
Moscow icon painting.
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