Ferapontov Monastery. Ferapontov Monastery: description, history, photo, exact address In which monastery the frescoes are painted like a masterpiece

Strelnikova E.R.

CATHEDRAL OF THE Nativity OF THE VIRGIN

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was erected in 1490 on the site that was consecrated by the Monk Ferapont for a wooden church in 1408. The construction of stone churches in the North was unusual at that time. Even in the Cyril Monastery - the more famous and rich - only seven years later they were able to build a stone Assumption Cathedral. For the first time, brick construction began in the North in the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery on the island of Lake Kubenskoye. Next was the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery. Its decor and construction techniques indicate that the architects were most likely Rostov masters.

The type of the temple is traditional for Moscow architecture: cross-domed, four-pillar, cubic, three-apse. Under the pitched roof are hidden the zakomars and the drum of the unpreserved dome above the chapel of St. Nicholas of Myra. The cathedral had a belfry, the remains of which became part of the northern porch. The facades and the drum are decorated with brick patterns.

The temple was “signed” by the famous ancient Russian master Dionysius and his sons. Its authorship is confirmed by the autograph of the icon painter on the northern wall of the church. It states that the painting began on August 6, 7010 (1502), and was completed on September 8, for the temple holiday. “And the scribes Dionysius the iconographer and his children.”

Interior of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Ferapontov Monastery. Photos of the early 20th century

Frescoes cover the entire internal surface of the temple with a total area of ​​about 800 square meters, they are completely preserved. Only some fragments were lost due to the removal of windows and the reconstruction of the iconostasis. The frescoes of the cathedral made the Ferapontov Monastery world famous. This is the only monument in the country in which the frescoes of the early 16th century have survived in their original design almost in full. Renovations made in the middle of the 18th century affected mainly the paintings in poorer preservation.

Dionysius painted in mixed media - frescoes (on wet ground) and tempera. To make paints, as legend says, he partially used multi-colored minerals located in the vicinity of the Ferapontov Monastery in the form of placers.

The basic scheme of the paintings is traditional: in the dome the Lord Pantocrator is depicted with the archangels and forefathers, in the sails - the evangelists, in the vaults - gospel scenes, on the western wall - the Last Judgment, on the pillars - martyred soldiers and saints, below above the ornamental shrouds - the seven Ecumenical Councils , in the altar - the Mother of God with the Child of God on the throne, in the altar - the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, in the deacon (aka the southern chapel) - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Concha of the southern aisle of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Ferapontov Monastery.

GREAT AKATHIST

A special place among the paintings of the Ferapontov Monastery is occupied by “Akathist to the Mother of God” - a picturesque interpretation of a song of praise consisting of 25 songs. All the chants are reflected in Dionysius. The master placed the akathist scenes in the third tier of paintings along the entire perimeter of the cathedral. Dionysius created one of the most perfect embodiments of the Akathist in painting.

The cycle begins on the eastern pillars with four scenes of the Annunciation, conveying the first four songs of the Akathist. The scenes then move to the edges of the western pillars, facing the center of the temple (Kissing of Mary and Elizabeth, Joseph's Doubt, Adoration of the Shepherds, Journey of the Magi). The continuation of the theme of the Nativity of Christ moves to the southwestern vaults (“Return of the Magi”, “Flight into Egypt”), from the 16th song (kontakion of the 9th “Every angelic nature was amazed...”) on the southern wall, the scenes along the western edges of the pillars move to the northern wall (starting from kontakion 7 - “Candlemas”). 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. This arrangement is very important compositionally: the artist filled the entire temple with scenes of chants. They “sound” both along the walls, and in the center of the temple on the pillars, and on the vaults in the northern and southern corners of the cathedral.

Akathist to the Mother of God, ikos 3. “Kissing Elizabeth” (meeting of Mary and Elizabeth)

According to the content of the narrative parts, the Akathist songs of Dionysius are divided into two halves - those related to the gospel story (the first 12 songs) and those containing reasoning and doxologies (the next 12).

The akathist cycle is associated with the main paintings of the temple, dedicated to the glorification of the Mother of God, her Praise, which includes such compositions as the Intercession, the Cathedral of the Mother of God (“What shall we bring to Thee”) and “Every creature rejoices in You, O blessed One.” The latter, like the Akathist, are written to the words of chants.

FRESCO OF DIONYSIUS IN THE TOMB OF THE REVEREND MARTINIAN

In addition to painting the entire internal surface of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Dionysius in the same 1502 partially decorated with frescoes the two outer walls of the cathedral, the western and southern ones. The portal painting of the western wall is dedicated to the temple feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. A lot has been written about her. Much less attention was paid by researchers to the external fresco of the southern wall at the burial of one of the founders of the Ferapontov Monastery, the Monk Martinian. In the 17th century The fresco ended up in the interior of the tomb church, attached to the cathedral, and is located in a niche of its northern wall.

The burial of the wonderworker Martinian turned out to be the logical center around which the stone construction of the monastery took shape. Martinian died in 1483, at the age of 76, and was buried near the southern wall of the then wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, erected by the monk himself in 1465. In 1490, his student and prayer leader, Archbishop of Rostov Joasaph (Obolensky), on the site of a wooden Church built the first stone cathedral without disturbing the burial. The fact that the burial was not under the cathedral, but outside, suggests that the veneration of St. Martinian was already significant at that time, and this was supposed to be evidenced by a separate tomb, following the example of the tomb of St. Kirill of Belozersky. There is no exact information about what the original tomb was like, apparently wooden. I. I. Brilliantov suggested that after the construction of the cathedral a chapel was erected. Its presence is confirmed by the existence of a wooden shrine, built before the construction of the Martinian Church in 1640-1641. The reliquary dates from about 1570. One panel of it survives, forming the east side of the later gilded wooden reliquary of 1646, which became part of the decoration of the stone church.

Gilded wooden carved shrine of St. Martinian. Fresco of Dionysius over the burial. Photo from the 1980s.

It can be assumed that the original tomb on the site of the existing church was erected before the canonization of the abbot. The basis for this can be the healings described in the life at the tomb of Martinian, where prayer services were served before the councils of 1549-1551, although not to the abbot, but to the Mother of God. In the Life, compiled in the middle of the 16th century. The monk of the Ferapontov Monastery, Matthew, mentioned not only the tomb, but also cancer (in the story about the 10th miracle of the healing of the young man Stephen from leprosy). The miracle occurred at a time when Abbot Gury was in Moscow with a list of nine miracles and learned about the tenth miracle upon his return to the monastery. The builder of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov, could himself build a tomb for his illustrious teacher. Not without interest in this sense is the opinion expressed to the author by the artist N.V. Gusev, who copied the frescoes of the cathedral for 35 years, that the fresco over the burial of St. Martinian was created for the interior, since it was painted with darker colors, in contrast to the external portal.

Compared to the painting of the cathedral, this painting has very large losses. Despite the poor preservation of the composition, it can be defined as “Our Lady of Pechersk with the upcoming archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the kneeling monks Ferapont and Martinian.” All the figures are facing the central image of the Virgin Mary, which has been completely lost. The figures of the archangels and St. Nicholas standing behind the Archangel Gabriel are in the best state of preservation. The figures of the crouching Ferapont and Martinian have been lost by almost half.

The width of the fresco exactly corresponds to the length of the shrine (231 cm), that is, the size of the saint’s coffin. In the 17th century During the construction of the tomb church, the fresco was to some extent neglected, since its upper left edge turned out to be higher than the edge of the arch of the niche, and a wide field was left behind the right part of the composition. The fresco was not whitewashed for a long time; the monastery inventories were from 1763 and 1747. she is mentioned. In the 19th century Significant alterations began in connection with the extension in 1836-1838. meals on the west side. At the same time, the mural painting of the quadrangle and the meal was completed. During these works, the tombstone fresco of Dionysius was severely damaged: the protruding part of the composition (the cathedral pilaster) was hewed away and a new painting was made on top of the ground. The ancient fresco was hidden by a layer of cement and a recording, different in content, which depicted the “Death of Martinian”.

In 1928, the fresco of Dionysius was uncovered from contamination and cement by restorer P.I. Yukin. The composition turned out to be severely damaged: in addition to the loss of its central part, the spaces on the faces of the saints and some other upper layers of the painting were erased. Confirmation that the central figure was the Mother of God and Child was found in the archive by researcher M.G. Malkin in the inventory of the beginning of the 18th century: “Above the shrine is the image of the Most Pure Mother of God of Pechersk, on the sides are the images of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, St. Nicholas in prayer, the Venerables Ferapont and Martinian, written in wall writing.” Another researcher V.D. Sarabyanov found mention of this fresco in the inventories of 1747, 1751, 1763 and 1767. and did not find it in subsequent inventories of the 18th century, suggesting that the fresco had already been whitewashed by that time.

The author of the first book about the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery V.T. This composition remained unknown to Georgievsky, since it was revealed by P.I. Yukin much later than the publication of Georgievsky. The murals of the church-tomb were introduced into scientific circulation by N.M. Chernyshev, who dated it to the time of the painting of the cathedral. In art historical literature, different opinions have been expressed about the nature of the composition and the degree of skill of its author. For example, G.V. Popov believed that the fresco was painted without the participation of Dionysius, and M.G. Malkin took it to the hand of the “last master” of his artel.

Following historical logic, it can be argued that the mural painting in the niche of the church of St. Martinian was carried out by Dionysius himself due to the special importance of this place, since it decorated the burial of the highly revered abbot, the “owner” of the monastery, figuratively speaking, the “successor” of the glory of the founder of the monastery, St. Ferapont. Let us recall that the relics of the wonderworker Ferapont are located in the Luzhetsky Mozhaisk Monastery, where he rested in 1426, and his Belozersk monastery began to be called the Martinian monastery.

If we consider the composition in the tomb church not in isolation from the rest of the mural, then in addition to decorating the place where the relics of one of the founders of the monastery are buried, it continued (or rather completed) the disclosure of the general plan for the painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Like the portal fresco, which was simultaneously completed at the end of the painting of the cathedral, the mural painting of the tomb was the final link in a single artistic embodiment of the idea of ​​intercession. If on the portal of the cathedral the main focus in the upper register of the painting is the appearance of the Savior, then on the southern wall of the temple this continued with the appearance of the Mother of God. Moreover, the asymmetry of the number of Deesis figures in the portal fresco was balanced in combination with the asymmetry of the standing Virgin Mary on the southern wall. Based on this, it seems unconvincing to assume that the fourth figure from the left in the Deesis is St. Nicholas, especially from the unconventional side for him, ¾ at the right hand of the Savior. Following the logic of the unity of the external frescoes, it can be assumed that when placing the image of Archbishop Nicholas of Myra on the fresco in the tomb, Dionysius placed on the portal not him, but his fellow saint. Thus, in the iconostasis of the cathedral, the icon of St. Nicholas corresponded to the icon of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian.

The recognition of the fourth saint on the portal was complicated by the fact that his figure was also badly damaged by alterations, like the fresco in the tomb. In the 18th century the roof of the porch was lowered, and its rafters were cut into the murals of the upper register of the portal. Before restoration work, the figure was not completely visible; it remained above the suspended ceiling. Various assumptions have been made about which saint is depicted in the Deesis of the portal. The monastery inventory of 1747 mentions this composition: “In the porch above the western church doors there is an image of the Savior Almighty. On the sides of the Spasov image there are written in wall script images of the Most Holy Theotokos, John the Baptist, the archangels Michael and Gabriel and the apostolic images, and images of the Nativity of the Mother of God” [emphasis added by us ¾ E.S.] Dionysius depicted the third pair, as in the Deesis of the iconostasis the apostles Peter and Paul, the fourth unpaired figure at the right hand of the Savior is most likely the Apostle John the Theologian, the same name saint of the builder of the cathedral, Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov (in the world Prince John of Obolensky).

Returning to the fresco in the tomb, it should be noted that the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the southern wall is not accidental, since this wall is common with the St. Nicholas chapel (a feature noticed by many researchers). It is worth emphasizing the “feedback” connection of the chapel with the church of St. Martinian. On the southern wall of the chapel there is a composition “The Transfer of the Relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker,” which depicts a large shrine of St. Nicholas. Under this fresco on the outside, that is, in the interior of the church-tomb, there is a shrine of St. Martiniana. The interconnection of the compositions is enhanced by the architectural detail of a ¾ window from the cathedral to the church, which, as is known, also had a symbolic interpretation. The vertical line from the window, which is the connecting link between the cathedral and the church, falls on the edge of the composition from the side of the figure of St. Nicholas.

If in the chapel all the compositions reveal the “earthly” deeds of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, then the outer fresco depicts his “heavenly” intercession. Here the continuity from Archbishop Nicholas to Abbot Martinian is emphasized. Nicholas of Myra is a great organizer and shepherd, and this is in consonance with the actions of the Monk Martinian, the builder of the Ferapontov monastery and a revered shepherd. Saint Martinian was the spiritual mentor of such famous figures as the Monk Cassian the Greek, Blessed Galaktion of Belozersky, Bishop Philotheus of Perm and the aforementioned Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov, the builder of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and the customer of the frescoes of Dionysius.

The frescoes of Dionysius in the St. Nicholas chapel colorfully depict the intercession of St. Nicholas for those unjustly convicted (the compositions “Deliverance of Three Men from Execution,” “Appearance to Three Governors in Prison,” “Appearance of St. Nicholas to Tsar Constantine” and “Appearance of St. Nicholas to Eparch Evlavius”). We find similar examples in the Life of St. Martinian. It is enough to recall his fearlessness in defending the boyar from the disgrace of Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark. The Grand Duke, having chosen the monk as his spiritual father, called him to be abbess at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, from where he subsequently returned to the Ferapont monastery. One day Vasily II wanted to return a boyar who had fled to the prince of Tver, and sent the Monk Martinian to him. Having secured promises, the boyar returned, but was captured and imprisoned. Having learned about this, Abbot Martinian immediately rode on horseback to Moscow, appeared to the sovereign and denounced him with anger, withdrawing his blessing on him and his reign. The prince remembered well how the loss of the blessing of his former rival Dimitry Shemyaka turned out and “feared God.” He immediately removed the boyar’s disgrace and went to the Trinity Monastery with repentance. Hegumen Martinian met and blessed his spiritual son with honor, and he himself asked for his forgiveness for his daring, showing an example of gentleness and humility.

The composition “The Repose of St. Nicholas” is located on the southern altar pillar of the cathedral opposite the “Transfer of the Relics of Nicholas of Myra.” It is the only image of the Dormition in the temple murals, which indicates the connection of both compositions with the tomb behind the wall. We do not see the “unearthly” life of Nikola in the bowels of the cathedral, but we see outside it, in another world, in heavenly intercession. Thus, the cycle of frescoes of the St. Nicholas chapel ends in the church of St. Martiniana with the intercession of Nicholas the Wonderworker before the Mother of God.

The idea of ​​​​the relationship between the external frescoes of the cathedral is supported not only by the upcoming, but also by the kneeling figures of the Venerables Martinian and Ferapont on the southern wall ¾ of the Venerable John of Damascus and Cosmas of Mayum, respectively, in the tympanum of the door arch of the portal, where they are depicted by Dionysius falling to the Mother of God of the Sign.

In both exterior paintings of the cathedral there are figures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. In the Martinian Church, the image of the Archangel Michael has an additional meaning. This is the saint of the same name of the Monk Martinian in the world and in the schema. The monk himself is depicted at the feet of the Archangel Michael, above his head there is an almost erased inscription, which can be read as “MARTINIAN”. The image of the buried person on the mural was natural and traditional if the tomb was walled up in the floor or wall of the temple. If it were not for this circumstance, then the founder of the monastery, the Monk Ferapont, should have been depicted on the left side of the composition (his image is opposite). The founders of the monastery are depicted without halos (the head of the right figure has not been preserved), since the canonization of Saints Ferapont and Martinian took place between 1547 and 1549, that is, almost 50 years after the painting of the cathedral. But Dionysius, ahead of his time, leaves us their images.

ICON ARTIST DIONISIOUS

The most difficult thing, perhaps, to write about is the amazing miracle that was preserved in the Ferapontov Monastery by the 21st century - the frescoes of Dionysius. A lot of research has been compiled on this topic, but little is known about the icon painter himself. Monastic synodics (memorial books) with records of the family of Dionysius discovered in recent years do not provide sufficient grounds for judgment about its origin. It remains unknown when and where he was born, when he died and where he was buried.

According to reviews of Dionysius' contemporaries, already in the 1470s he was considered the most famous among Russian icon painters. His works were highly valued. Thus, Vladyka Vassian (Toporkov) of Kolomna gave three icons of Dionysius to the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery for commemoration, and in the monastery’s insert book it was written that it should be commemorated “as long as the monastery of the Most Pure One stands.”

The first mention of one of Dionysius’s early works is contained in a chronicle compiled in Moscow under Grand Duke John III. In it, under 1477, is placed “The Legend of Paphnutius of Borovsk,” which tells about the temple built by the monk and about its “wonderful” painting. However, the names of the masters were omitted by the grand ducal chronicler. The authorship of Elder Mitrofan and Dionysius was pointed out by Archbishop Vassian (Sanin) of Rostov in the life of the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsky, which he compiled. Having named the icon painters, he gave them the highest assessment, calling them “notorious [glorified] then more than anyone else in this matter.”

To approach directly the topic of our article, we must begin with some necessary introduction.

In Russian murals of the XII-XVII centuries. in the composition of the “Last Judgment”, on the left side of Christ, the “nations” facing judgment were depicted. Artists expressed their distinctive features mainly in their costumes, and sometimes in the types of faces. This was a topic in which, more than anywhere else, the artist’s real observations of the life around him could be reflected. In this regard, the frescoes of the 17th century are remarkable. Yaroslavl, Romanov-Borisoglebsk (Tutaev), Rostov, etc. Particularly interesting here are the images of representatives of the peoples of Western Europe, the Dutch and partly the English, with whom in the 17th century. the Russians carried on brisk trade. They are presented extremely realistically: shaved, with trimmed mustaches or beards, wearing swords, tall hats, jackets with lace collars and cuffs, short pants, over the knee boots or stockings and shoes. Their wives are usually depicted next to them (Fig. 1).

In earlier images of the Last Judgment, the place of the Dutch is taken by representatives of other nations with whom the Russians were then familiar. In this regard, the fresco “The Last Judgment” by Dionysius in the painting of the Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery is extremely interesting (Fig. 2). Of the eight “peoples” represented here, seven have been completely preserved, and three have preserved the inscriptions defining them.

In front on the right are Jews; only minor fragments remain of this group. Ahead on the left are the Greeks. Their faces are very expressive (the head with a dark beard is especially typical), and their round white hats with raised brims are characteristic.

The inscriptions above the next two groups in the background have not been preserved (Fig. 3). Judging by the costumes, these are eastern peoples. The people of the first group are characterized by white, Phrygian-type caps; an elderly man with a beard is wearing a diagonally striped robe with lapels. These are most likely the “Kizilbashi” - Persians, usually depicted in the compositions of the “Last Judgment” of the 17th century. in striped clothes. In the two beardless figures of the second group in colorful long clothes of an oriental character, without a border turning them down at the bottom, and in dark helmet-like hats, one could assume Tatars. They have such hats in one of the marks of the icon “Metropolitan Alexei with the Life”, painted, judging by the style, by Dionysius. However, in the Ferapontov fresco these are apparently Ugrians, as can be guessed from the poorly preserved fragments of the inscription “eels” (traces of the inscription are visible on the negative of 1910-1911, but they were not preserved on the fresco). Dionysius could see the Ugrians (Hungarians) in person: the Hungarian embassy was at the end of the 15th century. from Moscow.

Rice. 1. “Germans” - Dutch (detail of the fresco

Rice. 4. Dionysius.

In the top row of the Ferapontov fresco, representatives of two nations are depicted. On the right are “Poles,” as evidenced by a well-preserved inscription. Their facial types and costumes are unique. Central figure
dressed in a dark ocher shirt, belted with a belt; a leg covered in brown along the foot is also visible
cloth. This is undoubtedly a man of the West and, apparently, a knight. The shaved faces of the Poles have an oblong
oval. It is significant that, in contrast to the more “peaceful” nature of the images of the Poles on the icon of the “Last Judgment” of the second half of the 16th century. (Fig. 6), dressed in rich clothes of the laity, the Ferapont Poles are clearly warriors, although unarmed. This feature becomes clear if we remember that on July 14, 1499 (according to other sources - 1500) Moscow regiments won a famous victory over the Lithuanian-Polish army in the battle on the river. Buckets. Prince Konstantin Ostrogsky himself and many other “voivodes and hetmans and lord’s children” were captured; On July 17, the prisoners were driven to the capital and “then there was great joy in Moscow.” Dionysius could see the prisoners in Moscow or Vologda, where the captured governors were subsequently exiled. If Dionysius depicted them as he saw them at the time of their bringing to Moscow, then the strange “shawls” on the heads of the Poles can be explained by the fact that the captives were deprived of weapons and armor and could only have balaclavas on their heads.

The real features we noted in the depiction of the “peoples” on Dionysius’ fresco indicate the artist’s keen powers of observation and the accuracy of his visual memory. Let us recall the review of a contemporary about Dionysius and his artistic team, who pointed out that they were “elegant and cunning icon painters in the Russian land, and even more so painters (my category - S. V).” Now let’s move directly to the topic of our note.

The “people” depicted on the fresco of Dionysius to the left of the Poles did not have an inscription. Here are three male figures, differing from their neighbors in individual features (Fig. 7). They do not have headdresses; the artist emphasized their high ("blazing") foreheads; the heads depicted in the background are also bald. There are no oriental features in the appearance of faces and clothing. These are not Greeks, already depicted by the master and accompanied by an inscription. These are the people of Western Europe. These are hardly Germans. We are convinced of this by the image of the Germans on the mentioned “Last Judgment” icon of the 16th century. (see Fig. 6, group below).

The fresco of Dionysius and the icon reflect various moments in the history of communication between Rus' and Western Europe.

The end of the 15th century, when Dionysius lived and worked, was the time of economic and political rise of the powerful centralized Russian state, headed by Moscow, the era of the grandiose construction of the Moscow Kremlin. Italian architects, summoned by the Moscow government, played a prominent role in this construction.

During the construction of the Moscow Kremlin, Dionysius worked in Moscow. It is known for sure that in 1482, for the Assumption Cathedral built by Aristotle Fioravanti, “the icon painter Dionysius and priest Timofey and Yarets and Konya wrote the Deesis with the holidays and the prophets of Velmi Chuden.” In the same year, he rewrote the “Greek letter” icon of Hodegetria from the Kremlin Church of the Ascension, which had been burnt in a fire: “And Deonysius painted the icon on the same board in the same image.” There is no doubt that Dionysius’ work in the Kremlin was not limited to these two tasks. But they also testify that at the time of the construction of the Moscow Kremlin, Dionysius was at the center of Russian artistic activity at the end of the 15th century. It is believed that he worked in Moscow in the 90s.

It is known with what keen interest the Moscow people treated representatives of the foreign world that were still unknown to us. Of course, they attracted the attention of Dionysius himself. Did he depict the Italians in the group of “peoples” in question? The type of their heads, with thin hooked noses and dark hair, well conveys the ethnic appearance of the people of sunny Italy. Moreover, in a number of portraits of Italian Renaissance masters one can find similar types of heads. If in the group of “peoples” Dionysius depicted the “Poles” and “Ugrians” he saw, guided by his immediate impressions, then the image of the Italians, with whom he constantly met during joint work in Moscow, is more than likely.

Of all the images of “peoples” we examined on the Ferapontov fresco, the heads of the people of the group we are interested in are endowed with some kind of special “portrait” sharpness. If we really have “Fryazins” before us, then didn’t Dionysius present in his fresco specific masters known to us from the chronicle?

The head of the front figure is very expressive; it is somewhat thrown back, characterized by a large open forehead, a hooked nose, brown eyes, and a shaved face; the clenched hand is placed on the chest near the throat in a very characteristic, dignified gesture. Whose image is this?

To answer this question, you should remember the meaning of the location of the depicted figure. Let us remember the patriarchal life of ancient Rus', with its appanage hierarchy of princes, localism of boyars, etc., as well as religion and the art associated with it. Let us also remember that, for example, in the apostolic rank of the iconostasis the saints were located, depending on their significance, closer or further from Christ sitting in the center. At the same time, a more “significant” saint was always placed on the right side. In Ferapontov’s composition “The Last Judgment,” the upcoming “peoples” are arranged according to the same principle: in front are the oldest historically known peoples - Jews and Greeks; while the Jews are placed on the right, as the first to know monotheism. Rus' is depicted in last place.

In the fresco of Dionysius, the figure in front on the right side of the group of “Fryazins” is the main one. Among the Italian masters, the leading one was undoubtedly Aristotle Fioravanti; It was he who was entrusted with the construction of the main temple of Moscow, and he also supervised the construction of the Kremlin fortress. Could the figure we are interested in be a “portrait” of Aristotle, made by Dionysius from memory? Dionysius, of course, saw many times and, perhaps, personally knew Italian builders and among them Aristotle Fioravanti. We think that Fioravanti could not help but be interested in the artist who painted the iconostasis for the cathedral he built. It is very likely that Dionysius saw how the people of the Renaissance, Italian architects, painted, and, perhaps, those glimpses of realism that we noticed in Ferapont’s frescoes are to some extent a consequence of this communication. Aristotle Fioravanti was about 60 years old during his trip to Moscow. Although the face of the front figure is devoid of direct signs of age (beard, mustache, etc.), the artist makes it clear that this is not a young man, but a wise man, the impression of which is created by a large open forehead and a bald skull.

Placed in the foreground to the left of the first figure, the second male figure is distinguished by blue clothing with a white, apparently fur collar. Perhaps, with this special outfit, Dionysius wanted to emphasize the different and special position of this person. Like the first “Fryazin”, he has an open large forehead, brown eyes, and a slightly downward curved nose; brown hair and beard. If we proceed from the significance of the “Fryazins” who were then in Moscow, then this figure depicts Giovanni Battista della Volpe or “Ivan Fryazin”, who traveled as an ambassador to Italy for the bride of Ivan III, Sofia Palaeologus. This was the type of clever and shameless adventurer who managed to win over the king. During his betrothal to Sophia in Rome, he represented Ivan III. For the sake of profit, Volpe accepted the Orthodox faith; in Rome he pretended to be a Catholic. “Ivan Fryazin,” who called himself the great Moscow boyar in Italy, was also supposed to have an appearance that corresponded to the appearance of the Russian boyars, who always wore a beard. In this way he had to differ from his compatriots - architects.

The character depicted last in the group of Italians is endowed with the same typical features as the first. He also has a very expressive and lively face with a large open forehead, brown eyes, a straight nose and a shaved chin. In this image, you can probably see the main builder of the Kremlin towers and walls, Pietro Antonio Solari. He came to Moscow in 1490. At this time he was about 40 years old. Dionysius could not help but see this architect, who worked on the construction of the Kremlin since 1490 and was the second most important master after Aristotle Fioravanti. Solari died in 1493.

The three supposed originals of Dionysius's fresco - Fioravanti, Solari and Volpe - were major figures of the era of Ivan III. By the time Dionysius worked in Ferapontovo, all of them were no longer alive, and the artist could write them from memory. And the very idea of ​​depicting these outstanding foreigners as “facing the Last Judgment” could have appeared only after the death of the latter, but not during their lifetime. Of course, our definitions of the characters in Dionysius’ fresco are nothing more than a probable hypothesis.

It should still be remembered that “portrait” images of historical figures were not at all an exception in Russian art of the 15th century. Thus, on the famous sakkos of Metropolitan Photius (early 15th century) there are (of course, largely conventional) images of Grand Duke Vasily Dimitrievich and his wife Sofia Vitovtovna. A small icon of Kirill Beloozersky, painted, according to legend, by Dionysius Glushitsky, who personally knew him (kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery) and then reproduced in numerous copies, without a doubt, has the features of a portrait image. The same can be said about the sewn cover on the hand of Sergius of Radonezh (Museum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra), where the appearance of Sergius acquired the facial features of a living person. The inventory of the Volokolamsk Monastery of 1545 mentions two icons from the late 15th century. with images on them of the specific Volokolamsk princes Ivan and Fyodor Borisovich, made by the comrades of Dionysius and his children - Paisiy and “Novgorodets”.

The hypothesis we expressed about Dionysius’ “portrait” images on the Ferapontov fresco of the Italians he saw in Moscow seems to be confirmed by observations of another of his frescoes in the same cathedral, which, in our opinion, indicates a special interest in the portrait of the famous artist, who came from among the laity.

On the western side of the southwestern pillar of the Ferapont Cathedral, a fresco with an unusual subject was painted in the vault, which did not preserve an inscription explaining its contents (Fig. 8).

In the center of the composition is Christ standing on a sandy hill. On the sides, judging by the iconographic features, stand the Moscow Metropolitans Peter (to the right of Christ) and Alexei (to the left).

At the bottom of the composition there are two groups of people sitting on the sides of a hexagonal pond (Fig. 9). On the right side of the reservoir sits a gray-haired old man with a small beard, his hands folded in prayer. His legs are bare above the knees (they are almost not preserved). An elderly woman sits behind him with her back to him; her face, facing the well, is depicted in profile. On the other side of the pond sit two men: the one in front, with light brown hair and a beard, a tall and still young man, the other - a completely young man.

The fresco illustrates the text of the XI kontakion “Akathist to the Mother of God”: “All singing is conquered...”. Comparing various options for depicting the 11th kontakion by Russian artists of the 16th-17th centuries, one cannot help but note the unusual solution of this plot by Dionysius and, in general, great creative freedom in the interpretation of this topic.

In the Bulgarian psalter of Tomich (14th century), stored in the manuscript department of the State Historical Museum, the 11th kontakion was depicted as follows: in the center at the top of the composition there is an image of Christ blessing with both hands, below four groups of saints standing before him in prayer positions, on the right are saints and saints, on the left are martyrs and saints wives.

The image under study, as V.N. Nechaev once told me, is closest to the composition on the non-akathist theme “The Origin of the Honest Trees of the Cross,” as it is interpreted in the Novgorod Sofia original of the 16th century. (images before the 16th century were unknown to V.N. Nechaev). In the last composition, the Mother of God, John the Baptist, Basil the Great and John Chrysostom are depicted along the edges of Christ standing on a smooth mountain against the background of the Church. Below, on the sides of the pond, into which the angel usually flies down lowers the cross, the sick are located.

V. N. Nechaev believed that the reason for the current composition was the celebration in Byzantium on August 1 of the miraculous image of Christ, located on one of the towers of the Spassky Monastery, with a healing spring under it.

In the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, on the southern wall, behind the throne of Ivan the Terrible, there is a Byzantine or Yugoslav icon of the 14th-15th centuries - “Praise of the Mother of God” surrounded by akathist marks. In the partially cleared stamp with the image of the XI kontakion of the akathist, Christ is depicted standing on a hill against the backdrop of a rectangular tower, and on the right and left are ecumenical saints facing him. Below Christ is a reservoir with seven human figures located along the hill; three of them are depicted directly above the well. Apparently, the image of the XI Kontakion on this or another similar icon served as a “model” for Dionysius for independently solving this composition of the XI Kontakion on the Ferapontov fresco.

Comparing the above text of Kontakion XI with the fresco of Dionysius, one cannot fail to note the artist’s attentiveness to its content. Unlike almost all editions of this subject known to us, Dionysius’ fresco more fully conveys the content and grateful meaning of the kontakion. Thus, in the kontakion, many songs are compared to the infinity of sand. In accordance with this, the hill on which Christ stands is depicted by Dionysius precisely as a sandy hill. In his depiction, the artist proceeded (which is especially important for us) from real observations: a hill with a light shadow along the edges was painted very vividly, not in the same way as the stylized slate mountains depicted in neighboring frescoes; There are no conventional whitewash “heels” here. The pond depicted below symbolizes the source of “God’s bounties.” Judging by the fact that the legs of the two men sitting in front of the reservoir are depicted naked, one can think that the artist wanted to express some specific thought about the healing power of the reservoir, which is like the “Pool of Siloam,” and presented the sitting people as if “waiting for the movement of the water ”, in order to receive healing or, according to the meaning of the kontakion, those who have already received it and thank God for it.

It is especially significant that the people depicted near the reservoir apparently form one family. This is evidenced by the very arrangement of the figures. On the right, as the eldest, are the husband and the wife behind him; on the left in front is the eldest son and behind him is the youngest. It is known that Dionysius had two sons, Theodosius and Vladimir, who, together with their father and other icon painters, worked at the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery in 1485. Together they worked on the painting of the cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery. Above the northern entrance of the cathedral they placed an inscription that the artists were “scribe Dionysius the icon painter with his children. O Lord Christ, King of all, deliver them, O Lord, from eternal torment.” If Dionysius found it possible to certify and emphasize his authorship (of which there are almost no examples in ancient Russian painting before the 16th century) by appealing to God for mercy in the inscription, as if as a reward for his labors, then is it not possible to admit that in the fresco in question he dared depict yourself with your wife and “children”? This assumption finds support in some details from the life of Dionysius.

In the life of Paphnutius of Borovsky, written shortly after his death by his student Archbishop Vassian of Rostov, there are two stories about Paphnutius’ “healing” of Dionysius. The latter once had so much pain in his legs that he could not work on the painting of the monastery cathedral. Then Paphnutius said to him: “Dionysius, may God bless you to begin a good deed; begin your work and God and the Most Pure Mother of God will grant health to your feet.” Dionysius began painting the church and supposedly “his illness escaped.” Soon a new misfortune befell Dionysius. Paphnutius forbade the painters who lived in the monastery to eat “worldly food” in the monastery, ordering them to “go to their neighbors for this purpose.” Therefore, the icon painters dined in the “neighboring village”. But one day, defying the abbot’s prohibition, they took into the monastery what was left from the dinner “walked a lamb with eggs,” that is, a leg of lamb fried with eggs. Dionysius, who was the first to try the forbidden dish, noticed that the eggs were swarming with worms. He got scared and threw the roast to the dogs, but nevertheless he was punished by a “fierce illness”, he could not move from his place, apparently his legs had given out, and besides, he was “attacked by a scourge”: his whole body “in one hour, like one scab merged.” Dionysius, in fear, repented to Paphnutius. He forgave him, taking his word not to violate his ban, and ordered Dionysius to go to church. After serving the water-blessing prayer, Paphnutius sprinkled Dionysius with “holy water” and ordered his body to be moistened with it. After this, Dionysius fell asleep, and when the artist woke up, he was supposedly completely healthy, and the rash, like scales, fell off from his body.

V. T. Georgievsky believes that the stories about the “miraculous healing” of Dionysius in the Paphnutiev Monastery were conveyed to the author of the life, Archbishop Vassian, by the artist himself, with whom Vassian was well acquainted. The story of the second “miracle,” replete with realistic details and imbued with humor, is similar to an entertaining short story and exposes in Dionysius the vitality of his “worldly” inclinations and his free-thinking. The information reported in these stories about Dionysius’s leg illness and his “use” of “holy water” during his second illness is quite real. They also coincide with the above-mentioned detail of the fresco painted by Dionysius, where a man at a healing pond is depicted with bare legs. This convinces us that Dionysius actually placed here his “self-portrait” and a portrait image of his family, the members of which are placed, as we noted, in accordance with their importance and age. The age of the sons of Dionysius can be determined by the inventory of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery, from which it is clear that Theodosius, who did more responsible work than Vladimir, was the eldest.

Our assumption is confirmed by the difference in the depiction of the characters in the composition being studied. In the faces of Saints Peter and Alexei there is more generality and stereotyped schematization. The heads of the family group (see Fig. 8) are more realistic and painted more carefully. Particularly interesting is the head of the eldest son, Theodosius. We probably won’t find another head so beautifully painted in the entire painting of the temple. There is a lot of personality in it. The beard was drawn out with great care, executed somewhat unusually, with light shading in the shadows and marks in black. Blue, like Dionysius himself, the eyes are not painted as schematically as the eyes of the saints; a very subtle “whirl” is given to the cheekbones and forehead. The legs are also depicted realistically (they are preserved in fragments). Apparently, the eldest, more gifted son enjoyed the special love of Dionysius: his head was painted by the master with special thoughtfulness and feeling. Although the figures of the youngest son, Vladimir, and the artist’s wife are of secondary importance, one cannot fail to note portrait features in them, especially in the face of the mother with its very expressive profile.

The portrait of Dionysius himself is so characteristic that, looking at it, one can very clearly imagine this little lively old man, whose life is filled with energetic creative activity. Reading the inventory of the Volokolamsk Monastery, you are surprised at the huge number of works by Dionysius compared to the productivity of other masters. Let us recall that the grandiose ensemble of Ferapontov frescoes, striking in their artistic perfection and meticulousness of writing, was created by Dionysius and his sons, apparently, in just one summer of 1501.

Our hypothesis about the presence in two frescoes of Dionysius of “portrait” images of Moscow Italians and the artist’s own family is not equally provable, as we ourselves are aware: the definition of the characters of the group of “Fryazins” in “The Last Judgment” is more controversial. We are forced to return to the last question by some details of the fresco on the text of Kontakion XI.

We see that by drawing a group of “peoples” in the “Last Judgment.” Dionysius used live observations of contemporary Russian reality and reflected some of its specific phenomena. In the second fresco one can also feel the close connection of the master’s creativity with public life. The appearance here on the sides of Christ of Moscow saints marks the strengthening of the national element in the composition: Russian metropolitans not only glorify the deity, but are also intercessors of their Moscow people. Therefore, the image of a group of specific Russians, Muscovites, and the family of Dionysius at a reservoir, takes on a special meaning.

In this regard, the architectural elements of this composition are interesting. In the frescoes of Dionysius, the master’s desire to move away from conventional and traditional architectural motifs and an attempt to introduce images of Russian architecture into painting are noticeable. There are many examples of this. Such, for example, is the temple with a tiered roof in the image of the Ecumenical Council (Fig. 10), vividly reminiscent of the cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery itself. In the composition “Protection of the Virgin”, the temple with two tower extensions on the sides, perhaps, goes back to the images of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture. Individual Russian architectural motifs enter into a bizarre combination with traditional schemes of iconic architecture. This feature of Dionysius’ works allows us to especially appreciate the architectural staffing of the fresco depicting Dionysius’ family, where we noted the strengthening of the “Moscow” national principle.

Here, the background for the image of Christ is a fortress wall with battlements, and the figures of the two saints correspond to square towers with small turrets at the corners, covered with tiled roofs. In the upper tier of the towers there is a row of rectangular loophole windows, three on each side. The towers and the fortress wall apparently symbolize the Moscow Kremlin, which at that time had just been built by the Italians. Let us remember that a century earlier, the great artist Theophanes the Greek twice painted an image of the Moscow white-stone Kremlin of 1366-1367 - in the chambers of Prince Vladimir Andreevich and in the Archangel Cathedral. Another outstanding Russian painter, Dionysius, also responded to the same theme in his work, placing in his freok the symbolic strongholds of the Russian capital.

It is possible to note some real elements of this image. In the earliest depiction of the Kremlin in the work of S. Herberstein, who was in Moscow twice, in 1517 and 1525, but made his own drawing, obviously from memory, some of the towers are equipped with hipped roofs, the same as on the plan of the Kremlin at the end XVI century , some of the towers do not have them. One must think that this detail reflects the real feature of the Kremlin towers of that time; At first, they did not have hipped roofs at all, but due to our climatic conditions, very soon they started getting hipped roofs, which we see on the Godunov plan. The small turrets depicted on the fresco at the top of the towers in the corners, apparently, are also not a product of fantasy: on the same plan of the Kremlin of the late 16th century. The Konstantinovo-Eleninskaya strelnitsa has the same turrets. Thus, Dionysius probably used his observations in these details of his fresco and tried not to give a fortress in general, but to specifically depict the Moscow Kremlin. The impressive scale of the fortress in relation to human figures is also characteristic. We think that in the fresco of Dionysius we really have the earliest depiction of the Moscow Kremlin, painted by a contemporary immediately after its construction.
The foregoing allows us to insist with greater confidence on our hypothesis about Dionysius’ depiction in his “Last Judgment” of the very builders of the Moscow Kremlin, Italian architects well known to him.

1. It is possible that the image of the “peoples” in the scene of the “Last Judgment” appeared in Russian art earlier than the painting of the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, painted in the 1420s by Daniil Cherny and Andrei Rublev, but it was from there that this theme received special development in our country . Although this composition was destroyed when painting was resumed in 1635, the 17th-century fresco that replaced the ancient one has survived in fragments. The closeness of its construction to Ferapontov’s composition of “The Last Judgment” indicates that the masters of the 17th century. preserved the basic scheme of the Rublev composition and that the latter served as a “model” for the painting of Dionysius. Apparently, Rublev’s composition was also imitated by the masters who painted at the beginning of the 16th century. Moscow Assumption Cathedral, as can be judged by the fresco that has reached us from 1642-1643, which restored the old one.
2. V. T. Georgievsky. Frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery. St. Petersburg, 1911, pp. 110-111.
3. V. Borin. Two icons of the Novgorod school of the 15th century. St. Peter and Alexy, Metropolitans of Moscow. "Lamp", 1914, No. 4, pp. 23-32.
4. S. M. Soloviev. History of Russia, ed. II, vol. V, book. I, M., pp. 1471-1473.
5. Kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
6. PSRL, vol. VI, M., 1853, p. 46.
7. S. M. Soloviev. Uk. op., stb. 1467.
8. The ambassador of the Teutonic Order to Vytautas, Count Kyburg, described in his diary the detachments of Polish-Lithuanian cavalry he saw in Kovno. Among them “there was also a detachment of elderly people with long beards, in dark gray outer cloaks, with pointed hoods, which from a distance made them look like Minorite brothers, and only multi-colored lower caftans distinguished them from the Franciscans” (D. Ilovaisky. History of Russia , M., 1896, vol. II, p. 181). Perhaps Dionysius depicted similar hoods?
9. V. T. Georgievsky. Uk. cit., p. 26.
10. The references to the “portrait” images that we later cited were indicated in the annotations to the catalog of the exhibition “Ancient Monumental Painting of the Peoples of the USSR” (M., 1947, pp. 48 and 49).
11. Russian temporary book, vol. II, M., 1820, p. 168; V. T. Georgievsky. Uk. cit., p. 25.
12. V. T. Georgievsky. Uk. cit., pp. 29-30; V. N. Lazarev. Dionysius and his school. History of Russian Art, vol. III., M., 1955, p. 489. There is information that Dionysius painted the Church of the Savior in Chigasy in Moscow, founded in 1483. In 1547, Dionysius’ wonderful paintings were destroyed in a fire. See I.M. Karamzin. History of Russian Goverment. St. Petersburg, 1892. Note No. 171; M. I. Alexandrovsky. Index of ancient churches in the area of ​​Ivanovo forty. M., 1917, p. 15.
13. By the time Dionysius worked in Ferapontovo, Fioravanti was no longer alive. See V. L. Snegirev. Aristotle Fioravanti and the reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin. M., 1935, p. 40. ↩ ↩ ↩

In 2002, the painting of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery, created by the great Russian icon painter Dionysius, his sons and craftsmen who were part of his artel, celebrated 500 years.

Traditionally, the founding date of the Ferapont Monastery is taken to be 1398. At this time, Ferapont, an associate of St. Kirill of Belozersky, settled separately on a hill between two lakes, Borodaevsky and Paskim.

01. Gate churches of the Epiphany and St. Ferapont. 1650

In the second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries, the Ferapontov Monastery became a significant spiritual, cultural and ideological center of Belozerye, one of the famous Trans-Volga monasteries, whose elders had a serious influence on the politics of Moscow.

In the center is a three-tiered, hipped bell tower (1680) of a very rare type with a square bell plan and a tetrahedral hipped roof. 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.

On the right is the Church of St. Martinian. The porch was added in the middle of the 19th century. 1641
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In the 16th century In the monastery, the monumental Church of the Annunciation with a refectory, a state chamber, service buildings - a stone drying room, a guest chamber, a cook's chamber - are being built. Having recovered from the Lithuanian devastation, in the middle of the 17th century. the monastery erects gate churches on the Holy Gates, the Martinian Church, and a bell tower.

Church of the Annunciation (right) with the refectory. 1530 - 1531.

According to historians, the church with the refectory was built with the contribution of Grand Duke Vasily III to commemorate the birth of the heir to the future Tsar Ivan IV, begged for in the Kirillov and Ferapontov monasteries.

In 1798, the Ferapontov Monastery was abolished by decree of the Synod.

In the 19th century, during the parish period, the narrowed monastic territory was surrounded by a stone fence. Bricks from ancient buildings were used in the construction of the fence.

In 1904, the monastery was reopened as a convent and closed again in 1924.

05. Refectory, behind it is the Church of the Annunciation.

Currently, the monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery house the Museum of Frescoes of Dionysius, which has the status of a historical, architectural and art museum-reserve. The museum, which arose at the beginning of the 20th century, protected the monuments with the help of only one guard throughout the 1930s-1960s.
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And now to the museum itself.

07. Frescoes, including those above the relics of Martinian Belozersky. Venerable Martinian of Belozersky is the abbot of the monastery. He contributed to the flourishing of his spirituality, introduced rewriting, and collecting books.


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10. In the church of St. Martinian. The tent church dates back to 1641.

11. Since 1838, the church has housed a two-tier iconostasis made by Vologda tradesman Nikolai Milavin. The carved royal doors did not preserve the figures of the Archangel Gabriel and Mary from the Annunciation scene. The inscription “Immortal Meal” speaks of the sacrament of transforming bread and wine into the Holy Gifts - the Flesh and Blood of Christ.

12. There is an entrance in the bell tower, we go through it and go up to the second floor. To the right is the Church of the Annunciation with frescoes of Dionysius, but first we will walk along the left corridor to the end, here is an exhibition of the museum of monastic life.

The interior of the Refectory Chamber with a central massive pillar and sail-shaped vaults resting on it is completely preserved from the middle of the 16th century.

13. Prisoner (XV century), shrine (XVI, XV I I century), phelonion (XV century) of St. Martinian

14. Reconstruction of the monastic cell according to the charter of Kirill Bezozersky
“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, according to the word of the Apostle, everything was common... Even a piece of bread was not allowed to be in the cell, nor any drink. If anyone was thirsty, he went to the refectory and there, with blessing, he quenched his thirst. If anyone happened to enter the cell of a brother, he saw nothing more in it than icons, books and a vessel with water to wash his hands. So we remained free from all attachments, having one concern - to please God, to preserve humility and love for each other, and to work for common needs...
And everyone worked without laziness, but according to his strength; not as for people, but for God...”

Pachomius Logothetes. Life of Kirill Belozersky.

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


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17. In the refectory, each novice sat in his place in accordance with 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.

18. Workplace of the Abbot.
At this table, letters and decrees sent to the monastery were read out, decisions made by the abbot and the cathedral elders were announced.

19. Ceremonial attire of priests.


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21. Place of the elder builder.

At the southern edge there was the place of the old builder. The scope of his responsibilities is not entirely clear. He took first place among the cathedral elders. Apparently, his main responsibility was the spiritual care of the brethren. In the last period of his life, Martinian was an old builder...

22. Restorers have done a great job to preserve the heritage of their predecessors for descendants.
Tools used by restorers.

In the main church of the former Ferapontov monastery, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, there are paintings created in 1502 by the famous Moscow artist Dionysius and preserved without renovation to this day.
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24. Miraculously preserved, the murals of Dionysius were unknown until 1898.

The icon painter Dionysius, famous for his icons and murals in Moscow and in the monasteries of the Moscow principality, was invited with his artel to paint the first stone cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery.

Inside, the cathedral is divided into three naves by four square pillars, on which are supported raised arches under the drum. Paintings containing almost 300 scenes and individual characters.
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27. Christ Pantocrator is represented in the dome of the cathedral, under him are the archangels and forefathers, in the sails are the evangelists, on the girth arches are saints in medallions,

28. Fresco in the drum - Christ the Pantocrator.

29. In the churches above the gates, all architectural elements have been completely preserved.


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32. Another remarkable collection of the Museum was formed from objects of peasant and urban economy and everyday life, and from the very beginning the Museum staff collected things originating from the Kirillovsky district, or more precisely, from the near and distant environs of Ferapontov.

33. Residents of many villages willingly donated objects from the 19th and 20th centuries that they had preserved to the Museum: icons, books, pottery, crosses, equipment for crosses, grindstones and millstones, scales and steelyards, glass and wooden dishes, spinning wheels and rolling pins, chests and boxes , antique fabrics, casual and formal clothing, old letters, photographs and documents and many other disused items.

34. This is how the ethnographic collection in the Museum was formed, giving a good idea of ​​the peasant culture of the Belozersky region. Dozens of villages around Ferapontov have existed since the 15th and 16th centuries and, presumably, the peasant life of those ancient times was not much different from the life of the 19th or early 20th centuries, so the ethnographic collection of the Museum also has historical significance.

35. Ruffled, carded, spinning wheels and looms were covered with sacred (mainly solar) patterns, and the fabric woven on them had a light power that protected the human body from hostile influences.

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There is a light burning in the low light.
A young spinner sits by the window.
Young, beautiful, brown eyes,
A light brown braid extends over the shoulders.
(Russian folk song)

The spinning wheel accompanied the girl from birth to marriage. Spinning was usually done by girls. By the time they reached adulthood, they had fully mastered this skill and became skilled spinners, which, according to popular belief, predicted happy love and marriage.

In the museum of the Ferapont Monastery there is a pagan Slavic Siversk idol - a symbol of fertility and worship of the god Rod or Yaril. Dating back to the 4th-9th centuries, the height is about 1 meter. Found in the village of Siverovo, Sukhoverkhovsky village council, Kirillovsky district.
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At the exhibition you can see three types of looms: root machines, the hind legs of which and the ponnel were made from a single piece of wood, composite, assembled from separate parts, and mixed, that is, machines in which the root part of the tree was used for the ponel, but it was not associated with hind legs. The main decoration of the krosen were stuffings and eyelids covered with carvings. The museum's collection now includes more than 20 krosen. On such machines you can weave any patterned fabrics, the only limitation will be the width of the resulting fabric.

44. In the Vologda dialect: " Harness the crosna" - prepare a handloom for work.

A marvelous wonder in the Russian wilderness!

And the heavenly and earthly Dionysius,
Emerging from the united lands,
This wondrous wonder has been exalted
To a point unprecedented before...

Address: 161120, Vologda region, Kirillovsky district, village. Ferapontovo.

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. The other complex consists of the Holy Gate with the churches of the Epiphany and Ferapon, 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.

Rising above the village of Ferapontovo, it is a uniquely beautiful ensemble, which is a historical monument of world significance. At the moment it is included in the UNESCO list. The history of the monastery is directly related to the significant events that took place in Moscow in the 15th-17th centuries. Here, in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, many frescoes painted by the famous icon painter Dionysius have been preserved.

Monastery ensemble

The Ferapontov Monastery was built on a hill between lakes Borodaevsky and Pavsky, which are connected by the small river Paska. Its ensemble harmoniously combines architectural details from different centuries. Of particular interest is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. This is the main church of the monastery, the construction of which began in 1490. Not far from the Cathedral, the Church of the Annunciation was built in 1530, and in 1640 the construction of the Church of St. Martimian began.

How the monastery was founded

Ferapontov was founded in 1397 by Ferapont, a descendant of the ancient Poskochin family. The saint took monastic vows at the Simonov Monastery in Moscow at the age of forty. Here he became friends with the Monk Kirill of Belozersky. Together they listened to the sermons of Sergius of Radonezh, who often visited the monastery. Fulfilling his obedience, Ferapont went north to Beloozero. The saint liked the harsh northern region, and a little later he decided to return there for his exploits. This time they went north together with the Monk Kirill. Here they founded the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

After some time, Ferapont founded his monastery on a hill between lakes Pavskoe and Borodaevskoe. At first he lived in a cell he built as a hermit. He had to endure many hardships. Over time, monks began to come to him, who also built cells here. So gradually this place turned into a monastery.

Heyday

The Ferapontov Monastery became widely known thanks to the efforts of the Monk Martinian, a student of Kirill Belozersky, who, at the insistence of the brethren, became its abbot. The most famous representatives of the Russian nobility once came here to worship - Elena Glinskaya, Ivan IV, Vasily III and others. In the 15th-16th centuries. From the walls of this monastery came the most prominent figures of the Russian Church - Bishop of Vologda and Perm Philotheus, Bishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov Joasaph and others. Over time, the monastery became a place of exile for prominent figures who fought for the supremacy of the Church in the state - Patriarch Nikon, Metropolitan Spiridon-Sava, etc.

Among other things, the Ferapontov Monastery was also the largest patrimonial estate. In the 17th century The monastery owned about 60 villages, three hundred peasants and 100 wastelands.

Devastation

Despite the fact that many stone buildings were erected in the monastery from the 15th to the 17th centuries, it never became a real fortress. Its fence remained wooden until the 19th century. This was the reason for the destruction of the monastery in 1614 by Polish-Lithuanian robbers. Stone construction was resumed only 25 years after the invasion. It is precisely because the monastery fell into disrepair that we owe the preservation of the frescoes in their original form. The monastery was not rich, and therefore the renovation of the paintings was never carried out.

In 1798, by decree of the Synod, the monastery was abolished. In 1904, a monastery was opened here again, but this time for women. It did not exist for long - until 1924. Today, there is a museum of Dionysius' frescoes on the territory of the monastery.

Icon painter Dionysius

In 1502, the icon painter Dionysius and his artel were invited to the Ferapontov Monastery. His task was to paint the Nativity Cathedral. By that time, Dionysius was already famous and was considered a leading Moscow master. He received his first serious order between 1467 and 1477. At this time, he was offered to participate in the design of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in In 1481, he began to perform another important task - creating icons for the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral (Moscow Kremlin). The master handled the order simply superbly and has since become the personification of the Moscow school of painting.

Ferapontov Monastery. Frescoes of Dionysius

The frescoes of Dionysius in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary represent the only mural painting by the master that has survived to this day. Before the façade was altered in the 16th century. the subjects depicted on it were visible from afar. Michael is also depicted on both sides of the gate. The portal is decorated with scenes of the “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” and the fresco “Desus”. At the top you can see a medallion with the image of Christ. Above the door, Dionysius placed an image of the Mother of God herself, surrounded by Cosmas of Mayum and John of Damascus. It is this fresco that becomes the beginning of interconnected plot images dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The central asp depicts the Mother of God Hodegetria sitting on a throne with angels kneeling before her. In the temple there are other frescoes representing the Virgin Mary. Ferapontov Monastery is famous, first of all, thanks to the paintings of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin.

Features of the temple paintings

The temple painting system is organized very strictly and concisely. The frescoes were made taking into account the architectural features of the building. Another special feature that makes the design of the temple harmonious is the mastery of composition. This can be attributed both to the placement of frescoes and to each individual plot. The drawing is distinguished by the flexibility of the lines and at the same time their laconicism. All images look weightless, directed upward. The paintings are crowded and dynamic. In order to view all the frescoes in the sequence of the plot, it is necessary to walk around the entire temple in a circle several times.

Another distinctive feature of Dionysius’s frescoes is the softness of the colors and elegance. The images are dominated by white, sky blue, yellow, pink, cherry and light green tones. For the background, the icon painter used mainly bright blue color. The paints were presumably delivered to the artist from Moscow. The richest paintings in terms of color are the medallions under the drum and on the spring-loaded arches. When performing them, both pure colors and mixtures were used.

The wall Nativity of the Virgin Mary can be confidently called the pinnacle of Dionysius’s creativity. An interesting fact is that all the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery were completed in just 34 days (from August 6 to September 8). And this despite the fact that their total area is 600 m2.

Ferapontov Luzhetsky Monastery

In the 15th century, Beloozero belonged to Prince Andrei, the son of Dmitry Donskoy. In 1408, he turned to Ferapont with a request to found a monastery in the city of Mozhaisk. After much deliberation, the saint agrees to become abbot of the new monastery. Built on the shore it was named Luzhetsky. In 1420, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was erected there. Not far from the Luzhetsky Monastery today there is a spring with healing water. They call it the well of St. Ferapont. According to legend, it was discovered by the saint himself.

Saint Ferapont remained in the Luzhetsky Monastery until his death in 1426. In 1547 he was canonized. His relics still rest in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. The Vologda and Luzhetsky Ferapont monasteries today are the most valuable monuments of medieval Russian culture.