Jul 00 - Christ Pantocrator and his ancestors, Chora church, Istanbul (Byzantine, early 12th cent., decorated 1316-'21)
Here in the southern dome of the inner narthex, Christ Pantocrator is encircled by 24 of his ancestors, ranging from Adam to Jacob.
"Perched on a hill high above the old Jewish quarter of Balat, a stone's throw from the land walls of Theodosius, is the Kariye Museum, formerly the Church of St. Saviour in Chora. Among the most evocative of all the city's Byzantine treasures, it is thought to have been built in the early 12th cent. on the site of a much older church far from the centre: hence 'in Chora', meaning 'in the country'. /B/ 1316 and 1321, the polymath statesman, scholar, philosopher and patron of the arts Theodore Metochites rebuilt the central dome and added the narthexes, the parecclesion and the stunning mosaics and frescoes which adorn both them and the nave. He was buried in the funerary chapel of the church in 1331, and is depicted in one mosaic offering a model of the church to a seated Christ, while wearing a turban-like hat called a 'skiadon'. (RG)
- Biblical narrative sequences depicted in the series of mosaics include the Infancy of Christ with the 'Enrolment for Taxation' and the 'Massacre of the Innocents'; Christ's Ministry incl. the Miracle at Cana, Christ healing a leper, and Christ healing St. Peter's mother-in-law; and The Life of the Virgin Mary (based on the apochryphal gospel of St. James) incl. 'The 1st 7 steps of the Virgin', 'the Virgin caressed by her parents', and 'Zacharias praying before the Rods of the Suitors'. One large fresco, 'The Deesis', depicts Christ with his mother and 2 benefactors, Isaac (who built the church in the 12th cent.) and a female described in the inscription as 'Lady of the Mongols, Melane the Nun'. (RG)
- The frescoes in the funerary chapel are very famous. "Contemporary with Giotto, they seem to have more in common with the early Renaissance than the stylized paintings of the earlier Byzantine period." Of the 30 scenes depicted, the largest by far and most spectacular is the Resurrection, "aka the Harrowing of Hell or, in Greek, the Anastasis. Christ dramatically tramples the gates of Hell underfoot and forcibly drags Adam and Eve from their tombs. Satan lies among the broken fetters at his feet, writhing while bound at the ankles, wrists and neck." (RG)
- I spent a few hours or more poring over all the many intricate details, trying to take it all in, as is my wont, with a guidebook in hand that I bought in the little gift-shop there. "Wow" I said.
Update Aug. 2020: I was almost indifferent when Erdogan announced that Hagia Sofia would reopen to worship for local Muslims as a mosque, seeing as access to the interior for non-Muslims and tourists wouldn't be limited significantly as a result, or so I'd read. But the reconversion of this jewel (now a museum), announced in the last couple of days, is nuts. The interior is covered in some of the best Byzantine-era Christian art anywhere, and there are more than 10 mosques in this part of town with no perceived need for another. The next impulse will be to cover these famous mosaics and frescoes up. (I'll scan and upload some more shots I took in here sometime.)
- Further update Oct. 2020: english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/10/28/turkeys-lat... See? He went and covered these treasures up. Btw, I don't see Erdogan as a renegade. All that chest-thumping can only be theatre when he's been so good to 'the West' as to facilitate a conduit for ISIS and a stream of international salafists to invade and destabilize northern Syria. Actions speak out loud in international politics, words not so much. He's had no cause for any beef with Assad. They were on friendly terms, their wives were friends. The reconversion of this famous jewel-box of a church is just distracting theatre for his base and for the rest of us.
Jul 00 - Christ Pantocrator and his ancestors, Chora church, Istanbul (Byzantine, early 12th cent., decorated 1316-'21)
Here in the southern dome of the inner narthex, Christ Pantocrator is encircled by 24 of his ancestors, ranging from Adam to Jacob.
"Perched on a hill high above the old Jewish quarter of Balat, a stone's throw from the land walls of Theodosius, is the Kariye Museum, formerly the Church of St. Saviour in Chora. Among the most evocative of all the city's Byzantine treasures, it is thought to have been built in the early 12th cent. on the site of a much older church far from the centre: hence 'in Chora', meaning 'in the country'. /B/ 1316 and 1321, the polymath statesman, scholar, philosopher and patron of the arts Theodore Metochites rebuilt the central dome and added the narthexes, the parecclesion and the stunning mosaics and frescoes which adorn both them and the nave. He was buried in the funerary chapel of the church in 1331, and is depicted in one mosaic offering a model of the church to a seated Christ, while wearing a turban-like hat called a 'skiadon'. (RG)
- Biblical narrative sequences depicted in the series of mosaics include the Infancy of Christ with the 'Enrolment for Taxation' and the 'Massacre of the Innocents'; Christ's Ministry incl. the Miracle at Cana, Christ healing a leper, and Christ healing St. Peter's mother-in-law; and The Life of the Virgin Mary (based on the apochryphal gospel of St. James) incl. 'The 1st 7 steps of the Virgin', 'the Virgin caressed by her parents', and 'Zacharias praying before the Rods of the Suitors'. One large fresco, 'The Deesis', depicts Christ with his mother and 2 benefactors, Isaac (who built the church in the 12th cent.) and a female described in the inscription as 'Lady of the Mongols, Melane the Nun'. (RG)
- The frescoes in the funerary chapel are very famous. "Contemporary with Giotto, they seem to have more in common with the early Renaissance than the stylized paintings of the earlier Byzantine period." Of the 30 scenes depicted, the largest by far and most spectacular is the Resurrection, "aka the Harrowing of Hell or, in Greek, the Anastasis. Christ dramatically tramples the gates of Hell underfoot and forcibly drags Adam and Eve from their tombs. Satan lies among the broken fetters at his feet, writhing while bound at the ankles, wrists and neck." (RG)
- I spent a few hours or more poring over all the many intricate details, trying to take it all in, as is my wont, with a guidebook in hand that I bought in the little gift-shop there. "Wow" I said.
Update Aug. 2020: I was almost indifferent when Erdogan announced that Hagia Sofia would reopen to worship for local Muslims as a mosque, seeing as access to the interior for non-Muslims and tourists wouldn't be limited significantly as a result, or so I'd read. But the reconversion of this jewel (now a museum), announced in the last couple of days, is nuts. The interior is covered in some of the best Byzantine-era Christian art anywhere, and there are more than 10 mosques in this part of town with no perceived need for another. The next impulse will be to cover these famous mosaics and frescoes up. (I'll scan and upload some more shots I took in here sometime.)
- Further update Oct. 2020: english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/10/28/turkeys-lat... See? He went and covered these treasures up. Btw, I don't see Erdogan as a renegade. All that chest-thumping can only be theatre when he's been so good to 'the West' as to facilitate a conduit for ISIS and a stream of international salafists to invade and destabilize northern Syria. Actions speak out loud in international politics, words not so much. He's had no cause for any beef with Assad. They were on friendly terms, their wives were friends. The reconversion of this famous jewel-box of a church is just distracting theatre for his base and for the rest of us.