The St. George 12th-century Church in the Prespa Village of Kurbinovo is expected to be open for visitors by the end of this year, daily Dnevnik reads.
The little church depicted with one of the most beautiful fresco paintings in the world will be fully protected inside and out. The church was built in 1191 during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Isaak II Angelus.
The Macedonian Culture Ministry says that one of its priorities is the protection of St. George church, which was declared a cultural monument back in 1952 as one of the highest accomplishments of Eastern Christian culture. The project on the temple's protection is carried out by expert teams of the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum in Bitola.
"In the past period, the teams performed geo-technical and mechanical research on the construction of the church. At the same, of the fresco painting was made as well. The aim is to determine the painting technique, the types and scale of the damages", officials of the culture ministry say.
One of the most beautiful fresco paintings
The conservators conducted additional physical and chemical analysis of the fresco paintings in the upper zone of the church. They also prepared a project for preservation of the frescoes and a project for making temporary protective roof over the edifice.
According to Liljana Hristova, the director of the National Institute and Museum-Bitola, after the placement of the protective roof, the teams will continue with the evaluation of the church architecture and the roof. With the completion of the researches and the preparation of the project documentation, the direct conservation and restoration work on the fresco paintings will begin, by application of contemporary techniques and methods," Hristova says.
The St. George Church in the village of Kurbinovo is considered one of the most beautiful pearls of medieval art in general. The architecture is not as striking as the fresco paintings are. According to the inscription on the altar, it was depicted in 1191.
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| The fresco painting in Kurbinovo is a rare example of the skills of the medieval painter. Photo: Facebook |
The impression of weightlessness rendered perfectly
Byzantologist Aneta Serafimova, professor at the department of art history and archeology at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, in her book Medieval Painting in Macedonia (9th-18th Centiry), writes that the painter from Kurbinovo possessed exceptional knowledge of the contemporary artistic movements of that time.
"The expressiveness with the saints is painted through the drapery and the line. The inner world of the figures is reflected through the dramatic game of the draperies, while the faces remain peaceful and have no expression. The volume is lost in the divine proportions of the elongated figures. The aim is to achieve weightlessness. This aim was rendered to perfection," Serafimova explains.
The southern wall of the altar features the figures of saints Cyril and Methodius. It is the oldest known portrait of St. Methodius in the Byzantium Slavic world. The portrait of St. Clement of Ohrid is depicted across his masters and Slavic enlighteners.
"The scientific analysis show that the main painter had two apprentices. However, the high value of these paintings is related to his accomplishments in the upper zones of the altar, as well as the representations of Jesus Christ and the Saint George, near the iconostasis. His style is sophisticated and expressive," Serafimova adds.
- See more at: http://www.independent.mk/articles/14756/Rare+Church+in+Kurbinovo+to+Open+for+Visitors#sthash.xamOHOxr.dpuf
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