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The “Transport of the Ark to Jerusalem” in post-byzantine wall-paintings

Σύμμεικτα

• Προεστάκη, Ξανθή

The “Transport of the Ark to Jerusalem” is a biblical subject that appears in the iconography as early as the 3rd century and is found either in isolation, or as part of the cycle of the wanderings of the Ark. It is of interest to note in this study the distinctive features that make up the composition, since it is often confused by archaeologists and art historians with other scenes from the cycle of the Ark.In the Byzantine period it forms part of a cycle of the wanderings of the Ark from the Exodus down to its dedication in the temple of Solomon, and is depicted mainly in manuscripts (Exodus, Joshua, Kings I, II, III). The “Transport of the Ark to Jerusalem” is not found in monumental painting to my knowledge. With regard to the Ark, however, the depiction of Moses and Aaron flanking an altar on which the Ark rests is common in the Palaiologan period. Two other representations that form part of the wanderings of the Ark are also found at the same period: the dedication of the Ark in the temple of Solomon, in the chapel of Kariye Djami, and the Transport of the Ark over the river Jordan, found in association with Joshua, in the Moldavian church Curtea de Arges (14th c.). In both monuments, the representations of the Ark are part of the cycle of préfigurations.The same iconographie type, illustrating the episode from Kings II, 6, 1-8, is followed in Post-Byzantine wall-paintings. TheArk of Moses is shown with a conical shape on a cart pulled by two oxen and guarded by two seraphim. The figure of the Virgin is rendered on the pediment of the Ark. In a second plane, just behind her, David plays the kinyra, along with other musicians holding various instruments. The walled city of Jerusalem is shown in the background. Ouza is depicted twice in front of the Ark: once kneeling, as he is struck by God for his impiety, and on the second occasion lying dead on the ground.The representation occurs frequently in the 16th century, in monuments of both the Cretan School and the North Greek School: in the katholika of the Lavra (1535), Stavro- niketa (1546) and Dionysiou (1547) Monasteries on Mount Athos, in the Varlaam Monastery (1548) at Meteora, the new katholi- kon of the Great Meteoron (1552) and the south exonarthex of the Philanthropinon Monastery (1560). It is also common in the 17th century: in the church of the Virgin (1599) at Malesina and the Gola Monastery (1632) in Lakonia, painted by Dimitrios Kakavas, in the Metamorphosis Monastery at Dryovouno, in the Pantanassa at Mystras, in the sanctuary (wall-painting phase dated to the 17th c.), in the church of the Koime- sis at Kalambaka, in the katholikon of Ayi- os Stephanos in the Korona Monastery, in the Petras Monastery in the Agrapha villages, etc.In Post-Byzantine times, the Transport of the Ark in its different wanderings is also narrated in engravings of Western origin, and also in portable icons of the 17th century influenced by Western engravings and Western style. Essential iconographie elements in the representation in Post-Byzantine wall-paintings include: a) the figure of the Virgin on the Ark and b) the episode of Ouza. In contrast, icons of the 17th century onwards have an essentially Western iconography, in which neither the figure of the Virgin nor the episode of Ouza are found.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία

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