Baltic Journal of Art History 21 Spring/Summer 2021. P. 31-59 (together with A. Trushnikova, M. Kostyria), 2021
The article invites to look afresh at the late 16th century Novgorod icon ‘The Vision of the Sext... more The article invites to look afresh at the late 16th century Novgorod icon ‘The Vision of the Sexton Tarasiy of Khutyn'’ and the Faceted Palace, built in 1433 by German craftsmen. The stepped gables of the building, located west of St Sophia Cathedral in the icon, were interpreted as realistic image of the upper parts of the Faceted Palace that have not survived. However, the iconographic analysis of more than a hundred of the Russian icons and illuminated manuscripts dating back to the second half of the 16th–early 17th centuries proved that the stepped gable was a decorative architectural motive, widespread since the 1560s–1570s. The authors classified the images of buildings with stepped gable in the late medieval Russian art, and determined their possible sources among the Northern European prints of the 15th–16th centuries. The comprehensive study ascertained that the building in the icon ‘The Vision of the Sexton Tarasiy’ can’t be used for reconstruction of the Faceted Palace. Since 1560s–1570s the schematic representation of the city in Russian art often placed buildings with the stepped gables (initially acquired from the European prints) next to the churches. Panorama of Novgorod in the Khutyn' icon followed this pattern and combined fantastic forms with rather realistic depiction of the church edifices.
«А дверии у неи 30...»: дверные проёмы в здании новгородской Владычной палаты // Актуальные проблемы теории и истории искусства: сб. науч. статей. Вып. 11. СПб., 2021. С. 335–345., 2021
The chronicles describe the Faceted Palace commissioned by the archbishop Evfimiy II in
1433 with... more The chronicles describe the Faceted Palace commissioned by the archbishop Evfimiy II in 1433 with ample details: it took the builders from “Beyond the Sea” 95 days to erect the edifice with 30 doorways. The restoration of the Faceted Palace in 2006–2012 gave opportunity to study the surviving 27 doorways. Their structure and decoration varies between rather simple and more intricate and falls into two categories. None of them have lintels, but all are spanned with segmental arches. The first type has either straight jambs or jambs with protrusions. These portals lead to the facilities, intramural staircases, heating chambers, and latrines. The majority of the doorways belong to the second type that has jambs with protrusions and extra vertical recesses to secure the door. In some cases, the second type is complicated by several jambs and lancet archivolt above the tympanum. Such portals are located in the galleries (“Seni”) and mark the important and representative halls. In general, the portals are important accents in the rhythm of the facades, and their decoration correlates with the hierarchy of the interiors. The chronicler paid attention to the numerous doorways to highlight the unusual for the Novgorod architecture dimension and structural complexity of the Faceted Palace. The gothic decoration of the church portals has long been implemented into the local tradition, but they differ from the 1433 Palace. The comparison with the 14th–15th century brick gothic architecture provides numerous analogies in various parts of the Baltic region, and therefore sheds no light on the origin of the German master-builders. In conclusion, it is worth to mention the hierarchy of the portals as another trait inherited by the Faceted Palace builders from the main residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in Marienburg.
One of the oldest monuments of ancient Russian architecture, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (11t... more One of the oldest monuments of ancient Russian architecture, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (11th century), was explored by the LSU expedition in the 1970s and 1980s. The article traces in detail the main stages of archaeological work and presents the conclusions made by the team of authors lead by V. A. Bulkin. For the first time, a consolidated excavation plan has been published, based on the reports, diaries, drawings, and photographs. The presented material significantly expands our knowledge on St. Sofia Cathedral in Polotsk.
Искусство и культура Средневековья. Наследие и перспективы осмысления: тезисы докладов международной конференции / под ред. С. В. Мальцевой, Е. Ю. Станюкович-Денисовой, А. В. Захаровой. СПб.: НП-Принт , 2020
Baltic Journal of Art History 21 Spring/Summer 2021. P. 31-59 (together with A. Trushnikova, M. Kostyria), 2021
The article invites to look afresh at the late 16th century Novgorod icon ‘The Vision of the Sext... more The article invites to look afresh at the late 16th century Novgorod icon ‘The Vision of the Sexton Tarasiy of Khutyn'’ and the Faceted Palace, built in 1433 by German craftsmen. The stepped gables of the building, located west of St Sophia Cathedral in the icon, were interpreted as realistic image of the upper parts of the Faceted Palace that have not survived. However, the iconographic analysis of more than a hundred of the Russian icons and illuminated manuscripts dating back to the second half of the 16th–early 17th centuries proved that the stepped gable was a decorative architectural motive, widespread since the 1560s–1570s. The authors classified the images of buildings with stepped gable in the late medieval Russian art, and determined their possible sources among the Northern European prints of the 15th–16th centuries. The comprehensive study ascertained that the building in the icon ‘The Vision of the Sexton Tarasiy’ can’t be used for reconstruction of the Faceted Palace. Since 1560s–1570s the schematic representation of the city in Russian art often placed buildings with the stepped gables (initially acquired from the European prints) next to the churches. Panorama of Novgorod in the Khutyn' icon followed this pattern and combined fantastic forms with rather realistic depiction of the church edifices.
«А дверии у неи 30...»: дверные проёмы в здании новгородской Владычной палаты // Актуальные проблемы теории и истории искусства: сб. науч. статей. Вып. 11. СПб., 2021. С. 335–345., 2021
The chronicles describe the Faceted Palace commissioned by the archbishop Evfimiy II in
1433 with... more The chronicles describe the Faceted Palace commissioned by the archbishop Evfimiy II in 1433 with ample details: it took the builders from “Beyond the Sea” 95 days to erect the edifice with 30 doorways. The restoration of the Faceted Palace in 2006–2012 gave opportunity to study the surviving 27 doorways. Their structure and decoration varies between rather simple and more intricate and falls into two categories. None of them have lintels, but all are spanned with segmental arches. The first type has either straight jambs or jambs with protrusions. These portals lead to the facilities, intramural staircases, heating chambers, and latrines. The majority of the doorways belong to the second type that has jambs with protrusions and extra vertical recesses to secure the door. In some cases, the second type is complicated by several jambs and lancet archivolt above the tympanum. Such portals are located in the galleries (“Seni”) and mark the important and representative halls. In general, the portals are important accents in the rhythm of the facades, and their decoration correlates with the hierarchy of the interiors. The chronicler paid attention to the numerous doorways to highlight the unusual for the Novgorod architecture dimension and structural complexity of the Faceted Palace. The gothic decoration of the church portals has long been implemented into the local tradition, but they differ from the 1433 Palace. The comparison with the 14th–15th century brick gothic architecture provides numerous analogies in various parts of the Baltic region, and therefore sheds no light on the origin of the German master-builders. In conclusion, it is worth to mention the hierarchy of the portals as another trait inherited by the Faceted Palace builders from the main residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in Marienburg.
One of the oldest monuments of ancient Russian architecture, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (11t... more One of the oldest monuments of ancient Russian architecture, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (11th century), was explored by the LSU expedition in the 1970s and 1980s. The article traces in detail the main stages of archaeological work and presents the conclusions made by the team of authors lead by V. A. Bulkin. For the first time, a consolidated excavation plan has been published, based on the reports, diaries, drawings, and photographs. The presented material significantly expands our knowledge on St. Sofia Cathedral in Polotsk.
Искусство и культура Средневековья. Наследие и перспективы осмысления: тезисы докладов международной конференции / под ред. С. В. Мальцевой, Е. Ю. Станюкович-Денисовой, А. В. Захаровой. СПб.: НП-Принт , 2020
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Papers by Alexandra Trushnikova
1433 with ample details: it took the builders from “Beyond the Sea” 95 days to erect the edifice with 30 doorways. The restoration of the Faceted Palace in 2006–2012 gave opportunity to study the surviving 27 doorways. Their structure and decoration varies between rather simple and more intricate and falls into two categories. None of them have lintels, but all are spanned with segmental arches. The first type has either straight jambs or jambs with protrusions. These portals lead to the facilities, intramural staircases, heating chambers, and latrines. The majority of the doorways belong to the second type that has jambs with protrusions and extra vertical recesses to secure the door. In some cases, the second type is complicated by several jambs and lancet archivolt above the tympanum. Such portals are located in the galleries (“Seni”) and mark the important and representative halls. In general, the portals are important accents in the rhythm of the facades, and their decoration correlates with the hierarchy of the interiors. The chronicler paid attention to the numerous doorways to highlight the unusual for
the Novgorod architecture dimension and structural complexity of the Faceted Palace. The gothic decoration of the church portals has long been implemented into the local tradition, but they differ from the 1433 Palace. The comparison with the 14th–15th century brick gothic architecture provides numerous analogies in various parts of the Baltic region, and therefore sheds no light on the origin of the German master-builders. In conclusion, it is worth to mention the hierarchy of the portals as another trait inherited by the Faceted Palace builders from the main residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in Marienburg.
1433 with ample details: it took the builders from “Beyond the Sea” 95 days to erect the edifice with 30 doorways. The restoration of the Faceted Palace in 2006–2012 gave opportunity to study the surviving 27 doorways. Their structure and decoration varies between rather simple and more intricate and falls into two categories. None of them have lintels, but all are spanned with segmental arches. The first type has either straight jambs or jambs with protrusions. These portals lead to the facilities, intramural staircases, heating chambers, and latrines. The majority of the doorways belong to the second type that has jambs with protrusions and extra vertical recesses to secure the door. In some cases, the second type is complicated by several jambs and lancet archivolt above the tympanum. Such portals are located in the galleries (“Seni”) and mark the important and representative halls. In general, the portals are important accents in the rhythm of the facades, and their decoration correlates with the hierarchy of the interiors. The chronicler paid attention to the numerous doorways to highlight the unusual for
the Novgorod architecture dimension and structural complexity of the Faceted Palace. The gothic decoration of the church portals has long been implemented into the local tradition, but they differ from the 1433 Palace. The comparison with the 14th–15th century brick gothic architecture provides numerous analogies in various parts of the Baltic region, and therefore sheds no light on the origin of the German master-builders. In conclusion, it is worth to mention the hierarchy of the portals as another trait inherited by the Faceted Palace builders from the main residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in Marienburg.