DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43337#0445
ChapterThree.
The Painters and
Stylistic Trends
Even the first glance at the Akhtala murals reveals their sty-
listic differences in terms of composition, color scheme and
painting techniques. A closer examination allows us to divide
them into three groups: the altar apse, the south and north
walls, and the west wall1. The first and second can be ascribed
to two artists, each with a pronounced individual manner. The
west wall was painted by several masters close to each other in
manner, discordant with the first two. To all appearances, the
Akhtala murals belonged not to a team but to individual paint-
ers, whom the patron Ivane Mkhargrdzeli selected to carry out
an ambitious and exceptional work, the painting of the main
church of the Plindzahank Monastery, which was intended to
become a centre for the Chalcedonians.
All the artists were experienced in mural painting, as in-
dicated by the ideal harmony between the frescoes and the
architecture, the exquisite proportions and the monumen-
tal expressive means. Their effort stood on a par with the
best samples of medieval Armenian and Georgian art, and
its quality brought out the versatility of individual styles. No
other example of the 11th-13th century Caucasian monumen-
tal art presents such a varied impression as the paintings of
Akhtala. In other places we see individual manners brought
together by a predominant style. Here all the trends exist
side by side, to form a visual anthology Eastern Christian
painting at the beginning of the 13th century.
The Painters and
Stylistic Trends
Even the first glance at the Akhtala murals reveals their sty-
listic differences in terms of composition, color scheme and
painting techniques. A closer examination allows us to divide
them into three groups: the altar apse, the south and north
walls, and the west wall1. The first and second can be ascribed
to two artists, each with a pronounced individual manner. The
west wall was painted by several masters close to each other in
manner, discordant with the first two. To all appearances, the
Akhtala murals belonged not to a team but to individual paint-
ers, whom the patron Ivane Mkhargrdzeli selected to carry out
an ambitious and exceptional work, the painting of the main
church of the Plindzahank Monastery, which was intended to
become a centre for the Chalcedonians.
All the artists were experienced in mural painting, as in-
dicated by the ideal harmony between the frescoes and the
architecture, the exquisite proportions and the monumen-
tal expressive means. Their effort stood on a par with the
best samples of medieval Armenian and Georgian art, and
its quality brought out the versatility of individual styles. No
other example of the 11th-13th century Caucasian monumen-
tal art presents such a varied impression as the paintings of
Akhtala. In other places we see individual manners brought
together by a predominant style. Here all the trends exist
side by side, to form a visual anthology Eastern Christian
painting at the beginning of the 13th century.