Monasteries from Moldavia

Northern Moldavia is the land of the painted monasteries, jewels of the Moldavian people civilization between the 15th and the 17th century. The exterior painting of the northern Moldavia churches represents a unique artistic phenomenon in Byzantine art, a masterpiece of mural painting. The painting of an exceptional aesthetic value spans the church façades, while achieving a perfect symbiosis between colour and architecture by the ingenious use of architectural spaces. At the same time, the colours of the exterior painting perfectly matches the surrounding landscape.Built some 500 years ago under the rule of Stephen the Great and of his successors, these architectural monuments are rather small, with stonewalls and wooden roofs, being surrounded by cells meant for the monks and defensive walls. Voronet Monastery, nicknamed “The Sixtine Chapel of the Orient”, was built by Stephen the Great in 1488. The interior frescos are unbelievable, the best example being The Last Judgement. The frescos are particularly outstanding through their blue paint, whose chemical contents have remained a mystery. Humor Monastery, dating from 1530, also has a certain number of very interesting frescos of a high artistic value, among which the most representative might be Virgin Mary’s Life. Both monasteries are easily accessible, as they conveniently lie close to Gura Humorului town (national asphalted road, railway station) where accommodation can be set up in a couple of small hotels. The tourist services quality is good but the quantity of such services is still low.
Moldovita Monastery is the biggest of the painted monasteries and its frescos rank among the best preserved ones. Built back in 1532 and painted in 1537, it has certain outstanding frescos, among which we can list The Siege of Constantinople and The Last Judgement. Sucevita Monastery is picturesquely located between some partially wooden hills. In sunny days, its walls shine, making it look more like a fortress. The green color prevails in most frescos: The Last Judgement, Jesus’ Genealogy, and The Philosophers’ Procession. Arbore Monastery, built in 1503, was decorated in 1541 with lovely frescoes. A fresh, light green with many shades prevails in most frescoes. Further northwards we find Putna Monastery rose between 1466 and 1469 in a period of glory by Stephen the Great, who was also buried there. Having white and simple walls, the monastery has traversed many fires, earthquakes and devastations. Nowadays only a tower has been preserved from the original building, the rest being rebuilt afterwards. In the same area, other places of interest can be Dragomirna (1602), Radauti (1365), Zamca, Probota, Dolhasca and Slatina Monasteries.

DESCRIPTION AND INVENTORY
Saint George's Church of the former Voronet Monastery. The triconch edifice was endowed at the beginning only with a bema, a naos topped with a high tambour and a pronaos, as the exterior pronaos was added at a later time. On the outside a continuous band of small blind niches surrounds the upper part of the walls of the monument, while high blind niches surround the exterior of the apses. The interior painting, dating from the 15th century, reveals a remarkable cycle of the Passion and a votive picture of the family of the founding prince. Three hundred sixty-five scenes from the Menology span the walls and the vault of the exterior pronaos.
The exterior mural painting is the last of this group, and it displays the traditional themes: the Church Hierarchy, the Tree of Jesse, the Acathyste Hymn (excepting the final scene of the Siege of Constantinople). The Last Judgement, spanning the east façade, is the grandest depiction, and also the most famous of the site.
The Decollation of Saint John the Baptist Church of Arbore village. It is built on a rectangular plane, suggesting in the interior the idea of a triconch by high deep niches bored in the wall. A semicircular arcade doubles on the outside the west wall of the pronaos.
The iconography of the painting is characteristic of the Moldavian school from the 15th and 16th centuries. A peculiarity of the interior painting is the presence of the founder's family in two images (a votive picture on the west wall of the naos and the funerary portraits in the pronaos). The exterior painting is as refined as the interior one. The graceful incised contours, the elegance of the outlines, and the fine harmonious colours create a pleasant effect. Some scholars remarked certain western influences which led to the hypothesis that Dragos Coman, the author of this site, must have travelled beyond the Carpathians.
Saint Nicholas' Church of Probota Monastery is characterised by the same triconch plan of the monastic type. High Gothic windows stand out on the west façade. The monumentality of the interior is impressive above all in the pronaos covered by two splendid Moldavian vaults. Outstanding depictions of sun signs span the exterior pronaos vault (like a transverse cradle with hollows). The exterior painting - owed to a workshop managed by an artist with a strong personality, endowed with an extraordinary creative skill, a fine and elegant drawing ability and a remarkable sense of colour - has been relatively poorly preserved. Because of the loss of the exterior painting of Saint George's Church of Hârlau (raised in 1530), nowadays Probota Church can be considered to be the masterpiece of this unitary group of painted churches from the time of Peter Rares. The painting is expected to be restored in a near future.
The Assumption of the Virgin Church of the old Humor Monastery. The whole interior and exterior painting dates from 1535, and is the work of a team probably managed by the master painter Thomas "of Suceava" whose name is written in white on the scene of the "Siege of Constantinople" as well as in a 1541 document that mentions his appointment as official painter at Peter Rares' court. As compared with other monastery churches from the time of Peter Rares this one has three architectural peculiarities: the triconch plan naos is not crowned by a tambour, the tomb chamber is surmounted by a hiding place and in the west part of the church there is an open exterior pronaos surrounding three parts of the church. The arcades of the exterior pronaos are supported by massif stone pillars. The prince and his family are depicted in the votive image of the naos. The style of the portraits is characteristic of Moldavian art. The main founders are depicted only in the funerary portraits of the tomb chamber. On the pronaos vault is depicted "The Platytera Virgin" in a uniquely vast, elegant fresco suggesting a musical rhythm. The "Last Judgement" is depicted in the exterior pronaos. On the outside, the apses are decorated with the "Church Hierarchy" and "Saint Nicholas' Life", and the south wall with "The Virgin's Acathyste". On the north façade fragments of the "Tree of Jesse" have been preserved, as well as other themes including "The Sky's Customs". The site is personalised by the red colour, harmoniously blended with ochre, pink, blue and orange.
The Assumption Church of Moldovita Monastery resembles in many ways that of Humor. From an architectural point of view, the differences consist in larger dimensions, slenderer proportions, the presence of the tambour above the naos, a rather different realisation of the exterior pronaos to the west. In the interior, the pronaos calotte has a particular shape; high Gothic windows enlighten the pronaos.
The interior painting of the naos reveals the "Cycle of the Passion" (with an exceptional depiction of the "Crucification" on the north semi-calotte) and the votive portraits of the founder and his family depicted on the west wall. "The Platytera Virgin" and the "Menology" span the pronaos. The themes of the exterior painting have a few innovations like the "Cycle of the Virgin" and the "Martyrdom of the Apostles" on the north wall. On the south wall there is a "Acathyste Hymn" famous for its depiction of the "Siege of Constantinople", as well as an ample depiction of the "Tree of Jesse". The Moldovita painting displays certain common characteristics with the Humor one, which led to the hypothesis that they were achieved by the same artists. The exterior colours are mainly yellow ochre combined with brilliant hues of red, blue and green.
HISTORY
As the largest Romanian state of the Middle Ages unified in the 14th century in the wake of the anti-Mongolian reconquest and the wars against the kingdom of Poland and Hungary, Moldavia reached the height of its development under the reigns of Stephen the Great (1457 - 1504) and Peter Rares (1527-1538; 1541-1546). At the same time that was the age of a unique artistic synthesis when the exterior painting churches emerged as magnificent masterpieces, emblematic for a unique artistic phenomenon in Europe. That consists in an exterior painting spanning the façades. The specific iconography illustrates a few compulsory themes (the Church Hierarchy, the Last Judgement, the Tree of Jesse, the Acathyste Hymn). These historic monuments were raised and decorated with exterior painting by princes and noblemen during the '30s and 40's of the 16th century:
Saint George's Church of the former Voronet Monastery, founded (1488) by Reigning Prince Stephen the Great. The bema and naos were painted between 1488-1496 (the opinions of specialists vary), and the pronaos in 1552.
The exterior pronaos (founded by Metropolitan Bishop Grigore Rosca in 1547) was decorated in the period with the façades.
The Decollation of Saint John the Baptist Church in the village of Arbore, raised in 1503 as a chapel of his residence by the governor of Suceava, Luca Arbore, functioned as burial place for the family of the founder. It was there that he was buried in 1522. In 1541 his granddaughter had the painter Dragos Coman de Iasi decorate the church. Later, after the extinction of the family, the chapel was turned into a village church.
Saint Nicholas' Church is the catholikon of Probota Monastery, one of the oldest Moldavian monasteries (founded before 1391).
The present church was raised by Reigning Prince Peter Rares in 1531 as a burial place of his family.
The interior and exterior painting dates from 1534. Only the bema was repainted in the 19th century.
Saint George's Church of the old Humor Monastery, founded before 1415 and dedicated first of all to the Assumption, received in 1471 a valuable gospel from Stephen the Great.
The present edifice was built in 1530 by the great chancellor (logofat) Theodore Bubuiog and his wife Anastasia, "by the will and support" of Reigning Prince Peter Rares; the mural painting dates from 1535. Prince Vasile Lupu built the bell tower. After 1786 the monastic community of Humor expanded.
The restoration works conducted during the '60s and '70s revealed the foundations of the old church. Also the tower, watch road and roof were restored. The mural painting was restored between 1971 and 1973 with the support and participation of UNESCO and ICCROM.
The Church of the Annunciation of Moldovita Monastery. The old monastery, dating from the 14th century, was rebuilt in the 15th century by Alexander the Good (1400 - 1432). The Moldavian Prince Peter Rares was the founder of the present edifice (1532), decorated with exterior paintings (1537). The precinct and princely residence were rebuilt later. The restoration works conducted in the '60s revealed the foundations of the old convent.