DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43337#0447
444 I THE WALL PAINTINGS OF AKHTALA MONASTERY
scription, in Greek AHONX accompanies the picture of Dionysius the
Areopagite4, and the other, in Armenian letters (epse), refers to Euse-
bios of Caesarea. A blue background with remnants of the final Greek
lettering is extant in the upper part of the fresco. Characteristically, the
phonetic variant of the Armenian inscription implies the vernacular
pronunciation5 Clearly, the inscriptions on the priming marked the
prospective arrangement of the holy bishops on the murals. Naturally,
the artist used the languages he knew best, Greek and Armenian, one
of which was his mother tongue. Knowing his confession, we can ar-
rive at an unambiguous conclusion: the Chief Master was an Armenian
Chalcedonian, and may have spent a long time in a Greek-language
environment. It would be logical for Ivane Mkhargrdzeli to choose
a compatriot and brother in faith to lead this inspired and pious work.
The mere fact that the artist was an Armenian Chalcedonian does
4 The last letter is a Greek sigma
turned upside down, a way of writing
widely met in epigraphic monuments.
In this case, the artist abbreviates the
name Dionysios.
5 I am grateful to P.M. Muradian and
K.N. Yuzbashian for this observation.
The inscription was made simultane-
ously with the preliminary sketch, in
the same reddish-brown. Characteris-
tically, the first and the last letters can
be interpreted as the Armenian let-
ter «е». This uncertain graphic form
is observed in some Armenian manu-
scripts of the 13th century.
not throw light on the artistic milieu in which his style emerged. It
would be natural to assume that he was trained in neighboring Geor-
gia, where monumental art was flourishing at the time. A galaxy of
brilliant painters worked there on its numerous murals in the early
13th century.
An examination of the style and technique of the apse murals, which
are spectacularly unlike Georgian frescoes, forces us to reject this hy-
pothesis, however. Techniques offer more lasting and reliable criteria
than style, susceptible as the latter is to changes in fashion. The faces
are painted on a solid dark-green layer with several successive layers
of lighter paint standing out in contrast. Widely used in Byzantine art,
this technique was extremely seldom encountered in Georgia before
the early 14th century. Also in keeping with the
Byzantine tradition, the lights and shades in
the clothes are represented in three grades of
intensity, as against the Georgian one or two6.
The style presents even greater differenc-
es. The overall color scheme is striking, with
the glowing colors of the figures standing out
against the bright blue background. Georgian
frescoes of the early 13th century are rather re-
strained in color. In their search for general
harmony, Georgian painters gave up the Byz-
antine «figure-background» contrast. For in-
scription, in Greek AHONX accompanies the picture of Dionysius the
Areopagite4, and the other, in Armenian letters (epse), refers to Euse-
bios of Caesarea. A blue background with remnants of the final Greek
lettering is extant in the upper part of the fresco. Characteristically, the
phonetic variant of the Armenian inscription implies the vernacular
pronunciation5 Clearly, the inscriptions on the priming marked the
prospective arrangement of the holy bishops on the murals. Naturally,
the artist used the languages he knew best, Greek and Armenian, one
of which was his mother tongue. Knowing his confession, we can ar-
rive at an unambiguous conclusion: the Chief Master was an Armenian
Chalcedonian, and may have spent a long time in a Greek-language
environment. It would be logical for Ivane Mkhargrdzeli to choose
a compatriot and brother in faith to lead this inspired and pious work.
The mere fact that the artist was an Armenian Chalcedonian does
4 The last letter is a Greek sigma
turned upside down, a way of writing
widely met in epigraphic monuments.
In this case, the artist abbreviates the
name Dionysios.
5 I am grateful to P.M. Muradian and
K.N. Yuzbashian for this observation.
The inscription was made simultane-
ously with the preliminary sketch, in
the same reddish-brown. Characteris-
tically, the first and the last letters can
be interpreted as the Armenian let-
ter «е». This uncertain graphic form
is observed in some Armenian manu-
scripts of the 13th century.
not throw light on the artistic milieu in which his style emerged. It
would be natural to assume that he was trained in neighboring Geor-
gia, where monumental art was flourishing at the time. A galaxy of
brilliant painters worked there on its numerous murals in the early
13th century.
An examination of the style and technique of the apse murals, which
are spectacularly unlike Georgian frescoes, forces us to reject this hy-
pothesis, however. Techniques offer more lasting and reliable criteria
than style, susceptible as the latter is to changes in fashion. The faces
are painted on a solid dark-green layer with several successive layers
of lighter paint standing out in contrast. Widely used in Byzantine art,
this technique was extremely seldom encountered in Georgia before
the early 14th century. Also in keeping with the
Byzantine tradition, the lights and shades in
the clothes are represented in three grades of
intensity, as against the Georgian one or two6.
The style presents even greater differenc-
es. The overall color scheme is striking, with
the glowing colors of the figures standing out
against the bright blue background. Georgian
frescoes of the early 13th century are rather re-
strained in color. In their search for general
harmony, Georgian painters gave up the Byz-
antine «figure-background» contrast. For in-