Miniatures of the Imperial Menologia

131 THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA * The two richly illuminated Greek manuscripts from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (W 521) 1 and the State Historical Museum in Moscow (Syn. gr. 183) 2 were formerly part of two multi-volume editions This study was carried out with the assistance of the Research Support Scheme of the Open Society Support Foundation (grant no. 288/1999), ACLS (grant 20052006) and Russian Foundation for Humanities (grant no. 05-04-04048a). I should like to thank the staff of the manuscript departments at the State Historical Museum (Moscow), the Benaki Museum (Athens), the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore) and the Vatican Library (Rome) for their benevolent guidance – and for permission to publish reproductions of the manuscripts Syn. gr. 183, Μπενκη 71,Walters 521 and Vat. gr. 1613. I am most grateful to Olga S. Popova, Boris L. Fonkič, and Francesco D’Aiuto for numerous consultations and all manner of help with the work on this subject. 1 The Baltimore menologion comes from the library of the Alexandrian Patriarchate in Cairo (former Cod. 33), from which it was stolen at the beginning of the 20th century; in 1930 the American collector Henry Walters bought it in Paris. The manuscript contains texts of the Imperial Menologion for January. Some of them were lost a long time ago and replaced by others inserted on sheets of paper in the 16th century (65 leaves out of a total of 295).The manuscript contains 24 illustrations of saints’ vitae and passiones from 4 to 25 January (two texts each for 5 and 18 January). The sheets measure 299/301 ⫻ 232/236 mm and the miniatures 71/80 ⫻ 144/160 mm. There is another sheet from the Baltimore Menologion with a miniature for 2 January in Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, gr. fol. 31. See: F. HALKIN, Le mois de janvier du «Menologe impérial» byzantin, in Analecta Bollandiana 57 (1939), pp. 225-236; Illuminated Greek Manuscripts in American Collections, ed. by G. VIKAN, Princeton 1973, pp. 79-81, nr. 11 and particularly N. PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, The Walters «Imperial» Menologion, in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 51 (1993), pp. 43-64; EAD., El «Menologio de Basilio II» y los «Menologios Imperiales», in El «Menologio de Basilio II». Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613. Libro de estudios con ocasión de la edición facsímil, dirigido por F. D’AIUTO, edición española a cargo de I. PÉREZ MARTÍN, Città del Vaticano-Atenas-Madrid 2008 (Colección Scriptorium, 18), pp. 231259. For an edition of the text indicating earlier publications of individual vitae, see: F. HALKIN, Le ménologe impérial de Baltimore, Bruxelles 1985 (Subsidia hagiographica, 69). 2 The Moscow Menologion formerly belonged to the Kastamonitou Monastery on Mount Athos, according to a note on f. 269; in 1654 it was purchased on Mount Athos by Arseny Sukhanov and brought to Moscow. The volume contains 59 texts (55 vitae and 4 homilies) for the months of February and March, one text for each day. Each text (except for the vitae of St. Parthenius [7 Feb.] and St. Codratus [10 March], the first sheets of which are lost) is preceded by a miniature. The sheets are * 132 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA of the so-called Imperial Menologion3. Except for five very poorly preserved fragments from the Benaki Museum in Athens (Μπ. 71) 4, no other illuminated manuscripts of the Imperial Menologion have survived. This collection of saints’ vitae was so called because each text in it finished with prayers for the ruling emperor’s good health, well-being and the salvation of his soul. The first letters of the closing prayers form the 311/313 ⫻ 244/246 mm and the miniatures 65/80 ⫻ 145/150 mm. For a description of the manuscript and bibliography, see: VLADIMIR (FILANTROPOV), Sistematičeskoe opisanie rukopisej Moskovskoj Sinodal’noj (Patriaršej) biblioteki, I: Rukopisi grečeskie, Moskva 1894, pp. 561-566, nr. 376; B.L. FONKI Č - F.B. POLJAKOV, Grečeskie rukopisi Moskovskoj Sinodal’noj biblioteki. Paleografičeskie, kodikologičeskie i bibliografičeskie dopolnenija k katalogu archimandrita Vladimira (Filantropova), Moskva 1993, pp. 121-123, nr. 376; S. DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij, in Vizantija, Južnye slavjane i Drevnjaja Rus’, Zapadnaja Evropa. Sbornik statej v čest’ V.N. Lazareva, Moskva 1973, pp. 94111; Drevnosti monastyrej Afona X-XVII vekov v Rossii. Iz muzeev, bibliotek, archivov Moskvy i Podmoskovija. Katalog vystavki 17 maja-4 ijulja 2004 goda, Moskva 2004, pp. 125-130, nr. II.6. Reproductions of miniatures in: D.K. TRENEV - N.P. POPOV, Miniatjury grečeskogo minologija XI veka N -o 183 Moskovskoj Sinodal’noj biblioteki, Moskva 1911. Text published in: Menologii anonymi Byzantini saeculi X quae supersunt, I-II, ed. B. LATYŠEV, Petropoli 1911-1912. 3 On the texts and manuscript tradition of the Imperial Menologion, see: A. EHRHARD, Überlieferung und Bestand der hagiographischen und homiletischen Literatur der griechischen Kirche, III/3, Leipzig 1952, pp. 341-442. See also the recent studies by Francesco D’Aiuto which provide a full bibliography on this question: F. D’AIUTO, Nuovi elementi per la datazione del Menologio Imperiale: i copisti degli esemplari miniati, in Atti dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche. Rendiconti, ser. IX, 8/4 (1997), pp. 715-747; ID., Note ai manoscritti del Menologio Imperiale, in Rivista di studi bizantini e neoellenici, n.s. 39 (2003), pp. 180-228; ID., Un ramo italogreco nella tradizione manoscritta del «Menologio Imperiale»? Riflessioni in margine ai testimoni ambrosiani, in Nuove ricerche sui manoscritti greci dell’Ambrosiana. Atti del convegno. Milano, 5-6 giugno 2003, a cura di C.M. MAZZUCCHI - C. PASINI, Milano 2004, pp. 145-178; F. D’AIUTO, Una collezione agiografica postmetafrastica e il suo «doppio»: i Menologi Imperiali A e B, in Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies. London, 21-26 August, 2006, III: Abstracts of Communications, Aldershot 2006, pp. 385-386. 4 The fragments from the Benaki Museum consist of five irregular pieces of parchment 85/130 ⫻ 175/185 mm, with the remains of one December and seven February vitae. The miniatures: f. 1r, St. Themistocles (21 December); f. 2v, St. Theodore Tiron (17 February); f. 3v, St. Leo of Catania (21 February); f. 4v, St. Polycarpus of Smyrna (23 February) and f. 5v, St. Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (25 February). The miniatures are 64/66 ⫻ 136/148 mm. For a description of the fragments, bibliography and reproductions of ff. 1r and 4v see: E. LAPPA-ZIZIKA - M. RIZOU-KOUROUPOU, Κατλογος Ελληνικν χειρογρφων του Μουσεου Μπενκη (10ος16ος αινας), Αθ να 1991, pp. 58-59, nr. 36, figs. 49-50. For a reproduction of f. 3v, where St. Leo of Catania is mistakenly identified as St. John the Almsgiver, see I. ŠEVČENKO, The Illuminators of the Menologium of Basil II, in Dumbarton Oaks Papers 16 (1962), pp. 245-276, fig. 15; and a reproduction of f. 5v in DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 107. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 133 acrostic ΜΙΧΑΗΛ Π. François Halkin and Albert Ehrhard believed that this stood for the name of Emperor Michael IV, the Paphlagonian (10341041). They dated the Baltimore manuscript to the period of his reign, but regarded the Moscow manuscript as slightly later 5. Most scholars agreed with this point of view. The decoration of all three manuscripts is almost the same 6. Each vita is preceded by a rectangular miniature depicting the execution of the martyrs, the figures of interceding saints or Gospel events against the background of a mountainous landscape or sumptuous buildings. These miniatures have been little studied. As a rule, they are simply compared with the illuminations in the famous Menologion of Basil II (Vat. gr. 1613) 7, which they resemble closely in iconography and style. This 5 HALKIN, Le mois de janvier cit., pp. 228-230; EHRHARD, Überlieferung cit., III, pp. 403-405 and 441. Apart from the acrostic this identification was based on a passage from the concluding section of the vita of St. Zoticus in the Baltimore manuscript (published text: M. AUBINEAU, Zôticos de Constantinople, nourricier des pauvres et serviteur des lépreux, in Analecta Bollandiana 93 [1975], pp. 67-108: 84), which describes how «our devout emperor» takes care of lepers; the fact that Michael IV did this is known from the Chronograph of Michael Psellus. Halkin believed the Moscow manuscript to be a later copy, because he thought the copier had not understood the acrostic. In the Moscow Menologion, unlike the Baltimore one, the letters forming the acrostic are not written in a column. Yet all the letters of the acrostic, including those in the middle of the line, are emphasised in red ink. 6 There is no ornament in any of the three manuscripts.The large vermilion initials at the beginning of each vita are executed very simply, almost without decoration; the smaller initials are also emphasised with vermilion and written in majuscule. 7 Il Menologio di Basilio II (Cod. Vaticano Greco 1613), I-II, [ed. by P. FRANCHI DE ’ CAVALIERI], Torino 1907 (Codices e Vaticanis selecti [...], 8); C. GIANNELLI, Codices Vaticani Graeci. Codices 1485-1683, in Bybliotheca Vaticana 1950, pp. 276-278; I. ŠEVČENKO, The Illuminators cit.; P. CANART - V. PERI, Sussidi bibliografici per i manoscritti greci della Biblioteca Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1970 (Studi e testi, 261), pp. 617-618; M. BUONOCORE, Bibliografia dei fondi manoscritti della Biblioteca Vaticana (1968-1980), II, Città del Vaticano 1986 (Studi e testi, 319), pp. 911-914 nr. 18265-18360; M. CERESA, Bibliografia dei fondi manoscritti della Biblioteca Vaticana (1981-1985), Città del Vaticano 1991 (Studi e testi, 342), pp. 388-389; ID., Bibliografia dei fondi manoscritti della Biblioteca Vaticana (1986-1990), Città del Vaticano 1998 (Studi e testi, 379), p. 449; ID., Bibliografia dei fondi manoscritti della Biblioteca Vaticana (1991-2000), Città del Vaticano 2005 (Studi e testi, 426), pp. 565-566; El Menologio de Basilio II. Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613. Libro de estudios con ocasión de la edición facsímil, dirigido por F. D’AIUTO, cit. The Vatican Menologion is a greatly shortened and adapted Synaxarion for the months from September to February. It has between one and eight commemorations for each day. Each text has 16 lines and takes up about half a page, while the other half consists of a miniature about 120 ⫻ 180 mm (of which there are 430 in all). 134 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA resemblance was so obvious that Nikodim P. Kondakov immediately concluded that the Moscow menologion must be a copy of the Vatican one 8. Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri discovered several differences in the iconography of the miniatures in the two manuscripts, however, and concluded on this basis that they belong to the same prototype 9. This idea was developed by Sirarpie Der Nersessian 10. According to her hypothesis, the miniatures of the Vatican and Moscow menologia and the Athens fragments were based on a non-extant illuminated Synaxarion, possibly produced in the reign of Constantine VII and frequently copied in the court workshop throughout the 10th and 11th centuries. She dated the Vatican Menologion to 979-989 11, and the Moscow manuscript to the end of the 11th century 12. Comparing the treatment of the Baltimore and Moscow Menologia, she argued that they must have belonged to different editions of the Imperial Menologion. In her opinion, these two multi-volume illustrated editions were produced at different times, one in 1034-1041 and the other in the late 11th century. She considered the Athens fragments to be the remains of a third illuminated edition also produced in the 11th century. These conclusions were generally accepted by Nancy Patterson Ševčenko 13. However her study of the iconography of the miniatures in the Baltimore Menologion showed that they were copied directly from the Vatican Menologion with only minor changes. In spite of the fact that the texts in the Baltimore Menologion contain many interesting details, the artist followed the more general iconographic schemes of the Vatican manuscript. In recent decades the question of the date of the texts of the Imperial Menologion and the illuminated copies of it has again attracted attention. Ihor Ševčenko 14 and Theocharis Detorakis 15 have advanced a 8 N.P. KONDAKOV, Istorija vizantijskogo iskusstva i ikonografii po miniatjuram grečeskich rukopisej, Odessa 1876, pp. 211-212. 9 Il Menologio cit., I, pp. XIX-XX. Nevertheless, Franchi de’ Cavalieri believed that both manuscripts date back to almost the same time. 10 DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit. 11 S. DER NERSESSIAN, Remarks on the Date of the Menologium and the Psalter Written for Basil II, in Byzantion 15 (1940-1941), pp. 104-125. 12 DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 95. 13 N. PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, The Walters «Imperial» Menologion cit., p. 45; EAD., in The Glory of Byzantium, eds. H.C. EVANS - W.D. WIXOM, New York 1997, pp. 101102, nr. 56, n. 1. 14 Ihor Ševčenko’s opinion is quoted in Illuminated Greek Manuscripts cit., p. 80; THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 135 number of serious arguments against the traditional identification of the name of Μιχαλ Π with that of Emperor Michael IV. Firstly, the letter P could not stand for «Paphlagonian» because Michael IV was unlikely to have been called by this disrespectful nickname during his lifetime; and, secondly, Byzantine acrostics usually indicate the name of the author, not the addressee. Both specialists have, therefore, assumed that the name Μιχαλ Π is that of the author of the Imperial Menologion. Ihor Ševčenko believes that this may have been Michael I Keroularios, Patriarch of Constantinople (1043-1058). Detokaris takes the view that the Imperial Menologion was produced at the end of the 10th century by an unknown author called Michael. Because the word «Hagarenes» is often used in the final prayers, the scholar concludes that these texts were commissioned by Basil II (976-1025), who frequently fought against the Arabs 16. New information confirming the dating of the Imperial Menologion texts to the time of Michael IV was published recently in an investigation by Francesco D’Aiuto 17. After studying the published texts of the Imperial Menologion, he discovered a word in the Vita of the prophet Jeremy that proves Halkin was right, γγελνυµος, «angel-named», which can only refer to Michael IV 18. Thus the time when the see also: I. ŠEVČENKO, Three Byzantine Literatures: a Layman’s Guide, Brookline, Mass. 1985, p. 6 n. 2. 15 Th. DETORAKIS, Η χρονολγηση το ατοκρατορικο µηνολογου το B. Latyšev, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 83 (1990), pp. 46-50. 16 This opinion was expressed earlier by A. EHRHARD, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 19 (1910), pp. 541-542; 21 (1912), p. 239, but later he accepted Halkin’s view. Halkin believed that the word «Hagarenes» referred to the Sicilian Arabs or Saracene pirates (HALKIN, Le mois de janvier cit., p. 229). Nancy Patterson Ševčenko also pointed out that this word was used in the 10th century in relation to the Seljuk Turks (N.P. ŠEVČENKO, The Walters «Imperial» Menologion cit., p. 58). Detorakis returned to the initial dating of the Imperial Menologion proposed by Vasilij V. Latyšev in the title of his publication (see n. 2). Latyšev himself soon rejected this and attributed the authorship of the Imperial Menologion to John Xiphilinos the Younger (late 11th cent.): V.V. LATYŠEV, Četii-Minei Ioanna Xifilina, in Izvestija Imperatorskoj Akademii nauk, ser. VI, 4 (1913), pp. 231-240; ID., Vizantijskaja «Carskaja» mineja, in Zapiski Imperatorskoj Akademii nauk, ser.VIII, 12/7 (1915), pp. 100-117. However, this hypothesis was immediately rejected in the reviews by P. PEETERS in Analecta Bollandiana 32 (1913), pp. 323-325, and A. EHRHARD in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 22 (1913), pp. 583-585; see ID., Überlieferung cit., III, pp. 383-388. 17 D’AIUTO, Nuovi elementi cit. 18 D’AIUTO, Nuovi elementi cit., p. 732. This text, which has survived in a manuscript in the Monastery of St John the Theologian on Patmos (cod. 736), was published in: F. HALKIN, Le prophète «saint» Jérémie dans le ménologe impérial byzantin, in Biblica 65 (1984), pp. 111-116: 111-114. As D’Aiuto writes, Halkin himself, confident of his 136 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA texts of the Imperial Menologion were produced has now been finally established. Moreover, D’Aiuto has identified the scribe of the Moscow Menologion as the calligrapher Nicholas, who copied a collection of treatises in 1040 for a certain Romanos, an asekretis and judge in Seleucia. This collection is now in Heidelberg (Ms. Pal. gr. 281). In D’Aiuto’s opinion, this fact, and also the overall high level of execution of the three illuminated copies of the Imperial Menologion, suggests that they are the remains of two sumptuous multi-volume editions, that is to say the «original» volumes of the two redactions of the Imperial Menologion (A and B) commissioned by Michael IV in 1034-1041 19. D’Aiuto believes that both the Baltimore Menologion and the fragments from the Benaki Museum belong to redaction B and that the text of both manuscripts was written by one and the same scribe 20. It should be added that the treatment of the two manuscripts is also the same 21. So it interpretation of the acrostic, evidently did not consider it necessary to draw attention to this epithet. 19 D’AIUTO, Nuovi elementi cit., pp. 733-738; ID., Una collezione cit. Albert Ehrhard (EHRHARD, Überlieferung cit.) distinguished between two redactions of the Imperial Menologion, produced during the reign of Michael IV, an earlier and extended redaction B and a shorter and unified redaction A, to which he attributed the Moscow and Baltimore manuscripts. Apart from composition and length of text, these redactions differ in the form of the concluding prayers. Nancy Patterson Ševčenko has expressed the opinion that the Baltimore Menologion should be attributed to redaction B (PATTERSON Š EVČENKO, The Walters «Imperial» Menologion cit., p. 62 n. 21). 20 D’AIUTO, Nuovi elementi cit., p. 736. This view was accepted also by PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, El «Menologio de Basilio II cit., p. 237. 21 Unlike the Moscow Menologion, in the Baltimore manuscript each vita begins on a new page, so all the miniatures are in the upper section of the sheet. In the Moscow Menologion the dates are written in the left-hand side of the upper margin, but in the Baltimore manuscript they are in the middle of the upper margin and are framed with small crosses. The miniatures on ff. 1, 3v and 5v from the Benaki Museum are in the upper section of the page. Above them in the middle of the upper margin were dates written in red ink with small crosses in front of them (the dates and crosses are now barely discernible). The miniatures on ff. 2v and 4v have been cut off along the upper edge, but in the lower part of f. 2 there is the beginning of the concluding prayers from the preceding vita, so evidently the miniature on f. 2v was also placed in the upper part of the page. I was not able to determine the original position of the miniature on f. 4v. There is a cross before the title of most of the vitae in the Baltimore Menologion, as there is on all the Athens fragments (except f. 5 where the text has been cut off). On all the fragments from the Benaki Museum the surviving letters of the acrostic are highlighted with uncial and red ink, and on f. 5 the letters MIX are written in a column. In the Baltimore Menologion also all the letters of the acrostic are highlighted with uncial and red ink, and in some vitae they are written in a column. The miniatures in the Athens THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 137 is more than likely that they both come from the same multi-volume edition of the Imperial Menologion, and not from different ones, as Sirarpie Der Nersessian concluded 22. A study of the style of painting in the miniatures of the three illuminated Imperial Menologia 23 also enables us to state that they were all produced at the same time (in 1034-1041) and probably in the same workshop. In my opinion, many of the miniatures in the Moscow and Baltimore manuscripts were executed by the same master. What is more, I hope to show below that the illustrations in the Imperial Menologia resemble closely, not only in iconography, but also in style, the miniatures in the Vatican Menologion, that they belong to the same trend and stage of development of Byzantine painting in the first half of the 11th century and, therefore, that they could not have been produced with an interval of a century or even fifty years of each other. The miniatures of the three Imperial Menologia reproduce fairly accurately the compositional schemes, forms of landscape and architectural background, poses and sometimes even facial types of the Vatican miniatures. In spite of the fact that in many respects the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia are not original, however, there are certain distinctions and characteristic individual features in the treatment of these borrowed compositions and forms that are found in all three manuscripts and enable us to conclude that they originated in the same workshop or were even produced by the same master. The task of comparing them is naturally complicated by the varying number of miniatures and varying fragments are slightly smaller in size than those in the Baltimore Menologion, but in both manuscripts they take up about 9 to 9.5 lines. See also PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, El «Menologio de Basilio II» cit., p. 257 n. 34. 22 DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 107. 23 This problem has hardly been studied at all. In specialised works devoted to the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia, the stylistic analysis of the miniatures is very brief (DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 95; N.P. ŠEVČENKO, The Walters «Imperial» Menologion cit., pp. 59-60; Illuminated Greek Manuscripts cit., pp. 79-80). In general works on the history of Byzantine painting, the Moscow and Baltimore Menologia are at best mentioned only in connection with the Vatican one (KONDAKOV, Istorija cit., p. 212; O. WULFF, Die byzantinische Kunst, Wildpark-Potsdam 1924, p. 529; V.N. LAZAREV, Istorija vizantijskoj živopisi, I, Moskva 1986, p. 215, n. 69). For a full bibliography see: I. SPATHARAKIS, Corpus of Dated Illuminated Greek Manuscripts to the Year 1453, I, Leiden 1981 [Byzantina Neerlandica, 8], pp. 74-75). The only work which contains a careful comparison of the style of the Baltimore miniatures with other examples of 11th-century painting is K. WEITZMANN, Byzantine Miniature and Icon Painting in the Eleventh Century, in 13th International Congress of Byzantine Studies. Main papers,VII, Oxford 1966, pp. 1-4. 138 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA state of preservation. Thus, the five fragments from the Benaki Museum retain no fully preserved figures or faces, the paint layer is eroded in parts, and the pigments have undergone substantial qualitative changes. In the Baltimore Menologion about two thirds of the twenty-four miniatures have survived fully or almost fully, while the original painting in the others either shows significant losses or has been renewed. What is more, most of the surviving miniatures are images of elders 24. The fifty-seven miniatures in the Moscow Menologion are generally speaking in a much better state of preservation: there is no later over-painting, although the paint layer is crumbling in parts and almost all the faces of the executioners are erased. Nevertheless, a more detailed comparison of the miniatures in these manuscripts suggests that they are extremely similar both in general and in particular. The miniatures of all three Imperial Menologia are remarkable for their splendid colours, abundant gold and rich decorative effects. The houses and churches with their red- and blue-tiled roofs, the arcades and the walls are adorned with sumptuous, varied ornament and different coloured screens; the marble tiles and columns with carved capitals are covered with mottling and coloured washes, and the windows have gold lattices. The figures of praying saints are often depicted against the background of strange buildings like victory arches or scenae frontes in antique theatres. The execution scenes take place against the background of a splendid mountainous landscape, amid flowers and trees. The buildings and mountains are painted not only in natural, but also in fantastic colours: pink, violet, light yellow, orange-ochre, red-brown, pale blue, olive, dark grey and light green. These elegant combinations are heightened by the rich colours of the robes: scarlet, deep blue, emerald green, bluish-white for the martyrs and executioners, and violet, brown, claret and ochre for the venerable elders and hierarchs. The movements of the figures in the foreground are often somewhat exaggerated: the executioner and the martyr almost seem to be running towards each other along the wavy strip of ground, the former brandishes his sword or club furiously, while the latter bends his head meekly; there are often fellow martyrs standing on either side, gazing sadly at what is taking place or at the spectator. This kind of compositional structure is highly reminiscent of a conventional stage space with a proscenium, wings and backcloth 24 There are six fully preserved miniatures with faces of middle-aged saints, two with young saints, and only one with a holy woman. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 139 and creates a certain illusion of depth. The illusion is heightened thanks to careful three-dimensional modelling of the buildings and hills, which seem to be lit from the sides. The slopes of the hills are worked in white scumbling and coloured reflexes, with bright highlights on the summits to look like snow. The hills, trees and bushes have characteristic, stylised forms, which are found in the miniatures of all three Imperial Menologia and indicate that they were all produced by the same master or the same workshop. For example, in the miniature showing the martyrdom of SS. Archippus, Philemon and Apphia from the Moscow Menologion (f. 101r) [fig. 24] the tops of the hills on the left are in the form of truncated cones with a break in the middle.The same hills are also found on the sheets from the Benaki Museum (f. 2r, St. Theodore Tiron, right), and in the Baltimore Menologion, for example, on f. 25r (SS.Theopemptus and Theonas) [fig. 2]. There are hills of a different type, for example in the miniatures showing St. Onesimus (f. 68v, right) [fig. 1] from the Moscow Menologion and the Prophet Micah (f. 36r) [fig. 5] from the Baltimore one. Here each hill ends in several flat tops with rows of narrow spurs like the crest of a wave. In all three manuscripts the plants also have elegant, stylised forms [figs. 1, 2, 5, 12, 13]. Usually each leaf is painted with a separate, neat, round stroke. The trunks and crowns of the trees and bushes are modelled in three tones: dark emerald on the outside, then a lighter green, and lemon in the middle. The leaves of the bushes are often executed in parallel, oval strokes which form rows along the stalks. In both the Moscow and Baltimore menologia the main master had an assistant or assistants who were occasionally entrusted with executing the landscape and, possibly, the robes of the figures 25. The hand of an assistant can be detected above all in uncertain and inaccurate drawing, different forms of plants and draperies, and the simplified modelling of volume. In relation to the overall number of miniatures there is a higher degree of participation by an assistant in the Baltimore manuscript. He seems to have participated in the execution of the landscape in ff. 48v, 50v, 113v, 158v and 200v. In these miniatures the trees and bushes do not have the clear, elegant forms characteristic of the main On the basis of differences in the colouring of the miniatures in the Baltimore Menologion B.A. Vileisis, the author of the description of the manuscript in the catalogue Illuminated Greek manuscripts cit., p. 80, nr. 11, believes that two or more masters took part in their execution. In my opinion, there is not a single miniature in this manuscript that was painted entirely by anyone but the main master. 25 140 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA master; the haphazard strokes of the somewhat muddy paint are unsure and disorderly. In the Moscow Menologion the assistant appears only at the end of the manuscript. In my opinion, he took part in the execution of the landscape on ff. 202v, 216v, and 229r, the landscape and architecture on f. 189v, and painted the whole of the miniature on f. 186v, which differs obviously from all the others in colour and drawing 26. It is painted in dense, cold and dull colours. The painting of the flower with its ragged, bristling sprays and thick yellow stalks and the small tree on the right is crude and clumsy. The drawing of the figure of St. Sabinus and his executioner is rough and awkward; the saint’s bloated body, outlined in black, is painstakingly and clumsily modelled with light brown paint and ceruse. The human figure as depicted by the main master in the miniatures of the Moscow and Baltimore Menologia shows a far higher level of skill. His work can be recognised by the confident, clear and light drawing, the elegant movements and natural poses of his figures 27. Volume is modelled gently and smoothly, with the help of the classical system of unobtrusive tonal transitions and white heightening. In both manuscripts the technique of painting varies in accordance with the number of personages and the scale of the figures (their «height» varies from 3 to 6 cm, but is usually around 4 to 5 cm). In miniatures with a small number of personages our master paints the landscape, figures and faces very carefully, gently and finely. Less frequently he has recourse to more rapid painting or a somewhat simplified graphic treatment of the figures and faces. The figures of the personages are usually more or less well proportioned, although often somewhat squat and heavy – with full shoulders, stomachs and hips.The folds of the robes often have characteristic stylised forms, for example those of the executioners of St. Onesimus (f. 68v) [fig. 26 This is one of the two miniatures in the Moscow Menologion selected by Sirarpie Der Nesessian for comparison with the Baltimore manuscript (DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 95; see the illustration on p. 97). 27 In both manuscripts one occasionally finds awkward angles, particularly in the depiction of a three-quarter turn. For example, St. Pamphilius (f. 72r), the executioner of St. Dometius (f. 237r), the Forty Two Martyrs SS. Theodore, Constantine, Callistus, Theophilus, Bassa and fellow martyrs (f. 163r) from the Moscow Menologion, or the Venerable Fathers of Sinai and Raitho on f. 92v from the Baltimore Menologion. The last two miniatures contain the badly proportioned and clumsily arranged figures of saints running with their legs tangled in the folds of their robes, which are also badly depicted; these figures (but not the faces) may have been executed by the main master’s assistant. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 141 1] from the Moscow Menologion, St. Theopemptus (f. 25r) [fig. 2] from the Baltimore Menologion and St. Themistocles (f. 1r) [fig. 13] from the Athens fragments: on the chest and stomach the cloth of the shirt forms semi-circular folds that hang over the belt, there are several V-shaped folds between the legs, and at the side a long fold shaped like a bolster runs down from the belt. In the treatment of the naked body as well the gentle plastic modelling of the volume is combined with the use of special stylised forms to depict the muscles and joints. The stomach and chest muscles are almost always indicated with light brown lines. As in SS. Eutropius and Cleonicus (f. 149r) from the Moscow Menologion [figs. 6, 23] or St. Theopemptus from the Baltimore one [fig. 2]. Knees are usually depicted in the form of two small white circles inside the darker circle of the kneecap. The volume of the calf is stressed by a curved line at the top of the boot. The sole of the weight-bearing leg is often slightly curved, making the pose seem more stable. A comparison of the types of face and technique of painting them in the miniatures of the Moscow and Baltimore Menologia provides the closest, sometimes even literal, parallels and shows clearly that these miniatures were the work of the same master. Let us now examine some examples. On f. 244r of the Moscow Menologion the children of SS. Philetus and Lydia, shown at the edges of the oven [fig. 4], are very similar to St. Theopemptus (f. 25r) [fig. 2] from the Baltimore Menologion. They have broad foreheads and high cheekbones, gentle, rounded chins, small, almost straight eyebrows, and eyes set wide apart with large black pupils. All three have gentle, dark curls outlined with the finest parallel lines of a lighter tone; their even locks lie in neat rows. The figure of St. Theonas from the Baltimore Menologion (f. 25r) [fig. 2] is large, with full hips and a rounded stomach just like the figure of St. Chrysanthus from the Moscow Menologion (f. 220r) [fig. 3]. The facial types of both saints are also similar. Their closed eyes are depicted in the same way. The Prophet Micah from the Baltimore manuscript (f. 36r) [fig. 5] has a type of face found fairly often in the Moscow Menologion, for example in St. Eutropius (f. 149r) [fig. 6]. The gentle oval of St. Eutropius narrows slightly towards the chin. The small eyebrows are slightly raised; the nose is small and almost straight with a small, neat tip. The large eyes with black oval dots for pupils have no contours, but are outlined by the shade around them. The small mouth is tilted sideways, so the line of the 142 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA nose and mouth repeats the oval of the face. All in all the painting of this somewhat naive and moving face is very gentle and picturesque: the contours and lines are softened and shaded, and the surface modelling is smooth with ceruse scumbling.The contrast of the pinkish-brown rouge, the greenish-grey shadows and the white heightening adds a gentle sheen to the skin. The figure of the Prophet Micah is quite minute, so the face is not painted as carefully and precisely as that of St. Eutropius. Nevertheless, the similarity of the facial features and technique of facial execution is very obvious. We find the same types of face in the executioners leading the Prophet Micah and in the young man from the scene of the burial of St. Alexis, the Man of God on f. 210v of the Moscow manuscript [fig. 7]. Occasionally one or other type is repeated almost identically. Let us compare the faces of St. John Kalybites from the Baltimore Menologion (f. 96r) [fig. 8] and St. Athanasia from the Moscow manuscript (f. 142r) [fig. 9]. Both saints have round faces with broad cheekbones and a long, pointed chin. The highly raised arcs of the fine eyebrows merge into the contours of the narrow nose with its slightly curved tip. The small eyes with sharp corners and identical semi-circular lines under the lower lids are slightly elongated. The surface modelling is restrained and sparse, with few white highlights; the orange-brown rouging on the hollow cheeks takes the form of long triangles. The images of both saints stress their austereness, restraint and inner self-discipline. A somewhat different type of face is found in St. Andronicus from the Moscow Menologion (f. 142r) [fig. 11] and St. Athanasius the Great (f. 129v) [fig. 10] from the Baltimore manuscript. The plastic modelling of the volume and relief of the facial surface of these saints is very painstaking: the protruding parts are accentuated with light ochre and the wrinkles are indicated with light-brown shaded contours. The small eyebrows with white tufts by the bridge of the nose are frowning; the lively, intelligent eyes with bright spots of white and black dotted pupils are tilted sideways. In both manuscripts there is one more version of facial painting. For example, in the faces of the bishop from the Veneration of the Apostle Peter’s Chains (f. 105r) [fig. 14] from the Baltimore Menologion, the Venerable St. Paul the Simple (f. 216v) [fig. 15] and Patriarch Tarasius (f. 113v) from the Moscow Menologion the surface modelling is very gentle and weak, almost without shadows. The few contours are pale and almost merge into the paint around them; the light is also subdued and barely THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 143 noticeable. Only the eyes, brows and nostrils are slightly accentuated by a few dark-brown strokes. Consequently the facial features seem somewhat vague and indefinite, which gives the faces as a whole a lost, unsure expression. This applies to the faces of St. Neophytus (f. 200r) from the Baltimore Menologion, St. Tryphon from the Moscow manuscript (f. 229r) and others. In multi-figure compositions the master of the Imperial Menologia often has recourse to a freer manner of facial and pre-facial painting [figs. 16, 17]. In such miniatures 28 the figures and faces are worked rather summarily and freely, gradual plastic modelling being replaced by individual points and strokes of colour, and the shadows and contours are very schematic, just a few brushstrokes. The use of this illusionist technique of painting enables our master not only to accelerate his work on the miniature, but also to make the facial expression and movements of the figure more lively and direct. To my mind the examples quoted provide sufficient proof that most of the miniatures in the Moscow and Baltimore Menologia were the work of the same master. The poor state of preservation of the Athens fragments makes it impossible to attribute them to this master, although the style of painting in them is not different from that in the Moscow and Baltimore manuscripts and consequently with a certain degree of caution they could be attributed to the same artistic workshop. To summarise the above-mentioned observations, I shall try to characterise the style of the master of the Imperial Menologia in general. There can be no doubt that he was a very high-class artist, who had already developed his own manner and his own pictorial devices. His miniatures are characterised by fine, careful painting, very precise and accurate drawing, attention to detail, and gentle, smooth, plastic modelling of surfaces. He is fond of balanced combinations of bright, rich colours and various decorative effects, and often makes use of certain stylised forms.The somewhat squat, strong figures of his personages stand securely on their own two feet. Their proportions are close to normal and their movements quite natural. The forms have depth and material weight. The representation of people, nature and architecture is life-like 28 For example, The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (f. 179r), The Thousand and Three Martyrs of Nicomedia (f. 17v), St. Photeine the Samaritan and fellow martyrs (f 225v) from the Moscow Menologion; and the Baptism of Our Lord (f. 38r) and the Venerable Fathers of Sinai and Raitho (f. 92v) from the Baltimore Menologion. 144 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA and natural, as far as such concepts are applicable to Byzantine art. The master of the Imperial Menologia is not striving for the innovations that appeared in monumental painting so fully and vividly in the 1030s and 1040s: austere, ascetic images and the dematerialisation and spiritual transformation of form by replacing classical pictorial devices with more conventional and abstract principles of representation. On the contrary, our master is eager and happy to portray the world in all the beauty of its earthly appearance. Indeed, the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia are remarkably beautiful, as if they were depicting paradise instead of torture and executions. Only occasionally do we find in the images of venerables and hierarchs the tension and aloofness, the increased convention and harshness in the drawing, which to some extent reflect the main trend in the art of the second quarter of the 11th century. Generally speaking, however, in terms of its typology the style of the master of the Imperial Menologia is close to the painting of the preceding generation, in which the search for new means of expression and a new image of spirituality was only just beginning to change the fine classical forms. The miniatures of the Imperial Menologia continue without any substantial changes the trend in painting which is represented by a whole series of works dating to the reign of Basil II (976-1025). These are: the icon of St. Nicholas 29 from the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai and the miniatures of the Lectionary cod. 204 30 from the same monastery [fig. 19], cod. 588 from the Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos 31 and cod. Coislin 20 from the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris 32 [fig. 18], the Psalter (Marc. gr. Z. 17) 33 and in part the «Menologion» of 29 K. WEITZMANN, The Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai. The Icons, I, Princeton 1976, pp. 101-102, pl. XXXVIII and CXX-CXXII. 30 K. WEITZMANN - G. GALAVARIS, The Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai. The Illuminated Greek Manuscripts, I, Princeton 1990, pp. 42-47, nr. 18, figs. 92-108, pl. III-VIII. 31 S.M. PELEKANIDIS - P.C. CHRISTOU - Ch. TSIOUMI - S.N. KADAS, The Treasures of Mount Athos. Illuminated Manuscripts, I, Athens 1973, pp. 447-448, pl. 278-289. 32 H. OMONT, Miniatures des plus anciens manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 1929, pl. LXXX. The manuscript itself was probably produced around the middle of the 10th century, and the miniatures with representations of the Evangelists were inserted later on individual sheets. I share the opinion of Henri Omont who dates them to the late 10th-early 11th century. 33 A. CUTLER, The Psalter of Basil II, in Arte Veneta 30 (1976), pp. 9-19; 31 (1977), pp. 9-15; Oriente Cristiano e Santità. Figure e storie di santi tra Bisanzio e l’Occidente, [catalogo della mostra:Venezia, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, 2 luglio-14 novembre 1998], a cura di S. GENTILE, [s.l.] 1998, pp. 156-157, nr. 7. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 145 Basil II (Vat. gr. 1613) 34 [figs. 20, 22, 25, 27, 29] and others. In these works the monumental postures and proportions of the stately figures, the wide round face with large, expressive features, the painstaking plastic modelling of the robes and the complex, nuanced, smooth painting of the faces is fully in keeping with the classical ideal. Occasionally in the treatment of the robes and faces the impenetrable smooth surface created with the help of a system of imperceptibly fusing semi-tones and fine ceruse scumbling is replaced by freer modelling with open brushstrokes, splashes of colour and colour reflexes. However, together with these illusionistic devices, which were used widely in the painting of the middle and second half of the 10th century, certain new features also appeared. The role of the line and geometrical forms grew stronger; they became increasingly conventional and began to conflict with the smooth plastic modelling of volume – for example, in the treatment of the face and attire of the Evangelist John in the Gospels of Dionysiou 588 35 and Coislin 20 36. In individual images, such as Peter the recluse from the Sinai Lectionary 37 [fig. 19] and the Evangelist Matthew from the Gospel of Dionysiou 588 38, strong tension and a painful intensity emerge, while inner concentration, bodily emaciation and spiritual strength are emphasised. The «Menologion» of Basil II is the closest analogy to our manuscripts in both iconography and style of the miniatures. This monument, undoubtedly the most important art work of its time, enables us to establish more precisely the individual facets of the overall style of the age. As we know, the 430 miniatures of the Vatican Menologion were produced by eight artists, whose names were written by the scribe next to the miniatures. The miniatures of each artist are clearly distinctive 39. The miniatures by the chief master Pantoleon 40 are executed in the See n. 7. PELEKANIDIS - CHRISTOU - TSIOUMI - KADAS, The Treasures of Mount Athos cit., I, pl. 287. 36 OMONT, Miniatures cit., pl. LXXX. 37 WEITZMANN - GALAVARIS, The Monastery cit., pl. VII. 38 PELEKANIDIS - CHRISTOU - TSIOUMI - KADAS, The Treasures of Mount Athos cit., I, pl. 283. 39 For more detail about the artists of the Vatican Menologion see: A. ZAKHAROVA, Gli otto artisti del Menologio di Basilio II, in Miscellanea Bibliothecae Apostolicae Vaticanae, X, Città del Vaticano 2003 (Studi e testi, 416), pp. 379-432; EAD., Los ocho artistas del Menologio de Basilio II, in El Menologio de Basilio II, Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. gr. 1613. Libro de estudios cit., pp. 131-195. 40 Ihor Ševčenko and Cyril Mango (ŠEVČENKO, Illuminators cit., p. 267, n. 67) assumed that Pantoleon was the chief master of the Vatican Menologion because his 34 35 146 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA same serene, balanced, fine and accurate manner as the Imperial Menologia and many of the above-mentioned works of the late 10th and early 11th century. As in the Imperial Menologia, Pantoleon’s miniatures show no desire to go beyond the framework of the traditional pictorial devices of life-like representation for the sake of attaining more spirituality and expression. Almost all the characteristics listed above for the master of the Imperial Menologia can be applied to Pantoleon’s style: confident, polished drawing, rich, bright colours, painstaking, smooth and gentle plastic modelling of the surfaces, natural, elegant movements of the personages, and an abundance of varied decorative effects and stylised forms. Compared with the miniatures in the Imperial Menologia Pantoleon’s drawing is far more detailed and somewhat dry: he executes all the details with great care, the numerous minute folds in the robes, the complicated ornament, and the tiny figured leaves on the trees and bushes.The movements of the personages are almost always more elegant and natural, and their figures have elongated proportions, fine hands and feet, and small heads. The painting of the faces is dominated by scrupulous moulding of depth, based on very smooth transitions from greenishbrown shades to bright red rouging; he often has recourse to a more graphic manner, without such deep modelling. The fine, regular, distinguished features of the saints’ faces are outlined in gentle, but precise contours. In the Imperial Menologia the facial painting is often richer, more pictorial and contrasting, the drawing less detailed, and the individual lines less precise and fine than Pantoleon’s. These differences are not substantial, however; moreover, they are explained in part by the difference in size of the miniatures (in the Imperial Menologia the faces are only about 6 to 8 mm, compared with 9 to 13 mm in the Vatican Menologion). All in all, not only the style of the painting in general, but also many individual devices and facial types used by Pantoleon and the master of the Imperial Menologia are very similar. Careful comparison of their miniatures suggests that the connection between them was more direct than a simply copying of iconography and compositional schemes. Let us examine a few examples. Almost exactly the same facial type is used in the representation of St.Theodore Stratelates in the Moscow (f. 25v) [fig. 26] and Vatican (p. 383) [fig. 25] Menologia: with regular, symmetrical facial features and almost work stands out for its high quality of execution; in addition, his name is associated with the largest number of miniatures, including the first one in the manuscript. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 147 identical forms and proportions of the forehead, brows and eyes. The narrow, straight nose is outlined on both sides with gentle, shaded greenish-brown contours, merging into shadows, and the rouging takes the form of diffuse pink circles. On both miniatures the treatment of the hair is the same: each lock is highlighted against a darker background, and within this individual hairs are indicated by very fine, light, parallel strokes, side by side. We also find similar facial types in the bishop from the scene of the burial of St. Alexis, Man of God from the Moscow Menologion (f. 210v) [fig. 21] and St. Maruthas on p. 406 of the Vatican Menologion [fig. 20]. Both have an emphatically grieving expression: the eyebrows with grey tufts, drawn towards the bridge of the nose, the bags under the eyes, and the drooping corners of the mouth; there is a dark vertical band in the middle of the forehead, and the hollow cheeks have contrasting patches of rouge. There is also a certain similarity between the image of St. Archippus from the miniature on f. 101r of the Moscow Menologion [fig. 24] and SS. Porphyry and Julian from the Vatican one (p. 405) [fig. 22]. Their faces have similar proportions and forms: a large, rounded chin, a fine, straight nose with a narrow tip, shaded spots of rouging, and a softly outlined mouth with velvety shadows. St. Archippus and St. Julian have the same shaped eyebrows and eyes with dark, slightly swollen lower lids. St. Porphyry resembles St. Cleonicus on f. 149r of the Moscow Menologion [fig. 23]. This is just to mention a few. It would seem that the master of the Imperial Menologia also borrowed from Pantoleon the special features of representing the human body and landscape mentioned above: the characteristic drawing of the kneecap and foot, closed eyes, folds of robes and boots of the executioners, the depiction of the hair by very fine, parallel lines, the stylised forms of the trees, and the device of indicating their crowns with tiny rounded strokes, dark at the edges and lighter in the middle 41. Some of these features are found in the miniatures of other masters of the Vatican Menologion or in other works of the late 10th and early 11th century, but the master of the Imperial Menologia is the most precise and consistent user of these devices and motifs in the form in which Pantoleon makes use of them. Only Pantoleon’s pupil George could imitate him with such accuracy and ease 42. In spite of such a close formal similarity of individ41 See, for example, the miniatures on pp. 16, 133 and 405 of the Vatican Menologion and on ff. 41v, 36v, and 101r of the Moscow manuscript 42 Ihor Ševčenko (ŠEVČENKO, Illuminators cit., p. 263) suggested that George was 148 ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA ual stylistic elements, devices and details, however, his miniatures are generally speaking substantially different from Pantoleon’s work. Two of the eight masters of the Vatican Menologion, George and Symeon of Blachernai, reveal a certain proximity to the new trends in art in the second quarter of the 11th century 43. The departure from classical principles and turning to a completely different emotional structure and a different stream of spiritual life are embodied most clearly in the mosaics and frescoes of the catholicon of the Monastery of Hosios Loukas in Phokis 44 and the church of St. Sophia in Kiev 45 (probably 1040s) and already evident in the frescoes of the church of the Panagia τν Χαλκ ων (around 1028) in Thessaloniki 46. These ensembles have a special content and special character of images, which possess a heightened spiritual intensity. More than ever the artists are striving to depict saints as if they already dwell in eternity, in a transfigured and deified world. Classical forms and pictorial devices are firmly renounced here in favour of a more schematic and symbolical language, intended to convey the beauty and perfection of the celestial world. The human figures have become flat and motionless. Strictly frontal poses predominate; the movements are conveyed conventionally as if in slow motion. Plastic modelling reproducing the volume of forms and their illumination is replaced by schematic graphic treatment with the help of simple geometrical figures and lines. The main role in the creation of form and image belongs to the light, which is of a symbolical, irrational nature. The faces with their excessively large features and huge, arresting eyes Pantoleon’s pupil because both masters often worked together on the same sheet of manuscript, but the former executed far fewer miniatures; they also used similar forms of ornament and flora. 43 On the main stylistic trends in painting of the first half of the 11th century, see: LAZAREV, Istorija cit., I, pp. 70, 75-81; D. MOURIKI, The Mosaics of Nea Moni on Chios, I, Athens 1985, pp. 259-269; O.S. POPOVA, The Ascetic Trend in Byzantine Art of the Second Quarter of the 11th Century and Its Subsequent Fate, in Ν!α Ρµη 2 (2005) [= #Αµπελοκ%πιον. Studi di amici e colleghi in onore di Vera von Falkenhausen, II], pp. 243-257. 44 T. CHATZIDAKIS-BACHARAS, Les peintures murales de Hosios Loukas. Les chapelles occidentales, Athènes 1982; C. CONORS, Art and Miracles in Medieval Byzantium: The Crypt at Hosios Loukas and its Frescoes, Princeton 1991; N. CHATZIDAKIS, Hosios Loukas, Athens 1997. 45 LAZAREV, Istorija cit., pp. 77-79, 217-218 (see nn. 86 and 88, which provide earlier bibliography); Istorija russkogo iskusstva, I: Iskusstvo Kievskoj Rusi. IX-pervaja četvert’ XII veka, Moskva 2007, pp. 263-323. 46 K. PAPADOPOULOS, Die Wandmalereien des XI. Jh. in der Kirche Παναγα τ'ν Χαλκ!ων in Thessaloniki, Graz-Köln 1966; A. TSITOURIDOU, The Church of the Panagia Chalkeon, Thessaloniki 1985. THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 149 have acquired a conventional, abstract character. Many of the saints are shown as if outside earthly bounds, in a state of ecstatic prayer or total detachment. These new tendencies manifest themselves in different ways in the miniatures of George and Symeon of Blachernai. George attaches great significance to line and light. His drawing is very precise, harsh and often conventional. Among his personages one finds faces with petrified and unnatural regular features outlined with black contours [fig. 27]; in his representation of human figures and robes a laconic silhouette and abstract pattern of geometrical shapes and gold hatching play a far more important role than smooth plastic modelling of volume. The landscape, faces and robes of the saints are lit with a cold mystical luminescence, sharp flashes of white light and colour reflexes. All these qualities bring George’s miniatures close to the frescoes of Panagia τν Χαλκ ων and the crypt at Hosios Loukas [fig. 28]. The miniatures of Symeon of Blachernai [fig. 29] reflect another aspect of this process. He prefers heavy and powerful forms, which have not yet been deprived of volume and corporeality. His personages are squat, with fat arms and legs, big heads, and broad, heavy faces with large, frozen-like features. The huge eyes are wide open and all the features have dark, resilient contours. Nevertheless active use is made of plastic modelling, which is extremely energetic and intense in the faces of elders and softer in the faces of young saints. In the images of elders the emaciation, austereness and asceticism of their outward appearance stress their great inner tension and titanic spiritual power. In this respect the miniatures of Symeon of Blachernai are very close to the mosaics and frescoes of the Kievan St. Sophia and particularly Hosios Loukas, which include a fair number of literal analogies [fig. 30]. Such close parallels to this monumental art are extremely rare in the Constantinopolitan book miniatures of the first half of the 11th century. The style of painting of the other masters in the Vatican Menologion is more conservative. Thus, master Menas, and to some extent his pupil Nestor, clearly followed the classical art of the middle and second half of the 10th century. Their miniatures are painted in the illusionist manner with open, sometimes deliberately careless strokes. The plastic modelling of volume in them is intimated by a few free strokes and dots of colour. The other masters (Michael the Younger, Michael of Blachernai and Symeon) were evidently trying to work in the same spirit as Pantoleon. The style of each of them has nuances of its own, but generally speak- ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA 150 ing their miniatures are executed in the same quiet, natural and classical manner, in which the master of the Imperial Menologia continued to work later. There can be no doubt that the master of the Imperial Menologia knew the miniatures of the Vatican manuscript. As Nancy Patterson Ševčenko has shown convincingly, the miniatures of the Baltimore Menologion were copied from it. With regard to the miniatures of the Moscow manuscript and Athens fragments Sirarpie Der Nersessian arrived at the opposite conclusion: in her opinion, they were copied not from the Vatican Menologion, but from its prototype. Given that some of the miniatures in these three manuscripts really do contain substantial differences in the iconography, not all her arguments in favour of such a conclusion are convincing 47. More detailed comparison of the surviving miniatures does not make it possible to either confirm finally or reject Der Nersessian’s hypothesis. Most miniatures in the Moscow manuscript and Athens fragments repeat not only the same compositional schemes, but also the same colour treatment 48, the same characteristic minor DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., pp. 97-107. In my opinion, the differences between the representations of Patriarch Tarasius, St. Hypatius of Gangra and the Invention of the Head of John the Baptist in the Vatican and Moscow Menologia are not substantial and do not exclude the dependence of the latter manuscript on the former. There are substantial differences between the miniatures illustrating the vitae of St. Maruthas (Syn. Gr. 183: f. 132r, 28 February;Vat. gr. 1613: p. 406, 16 February); SS. Archippus, Philemon and Apphia (Syn. gr. 183: f. 101r, 21 February;Vat. gr. 1613: p. 200, 23 November), St. Dometius and fellow martyrs (Syn. gr. 183: f. 237r, 24 March; Vat. gr. 1613: p. 89, 4 October), and SS. Chrysanthus and Daria (Syn. gr. 183: f. 220r, 19 March;Vat. gr. 1613: p. 118, 17 October).Yet they are celebrated on different days, so it is perfectly possible that the master of the Moscow manuscript simply did not find them amid the 430 miniatures in the Vatican Menologion and illustrated their vitae in the Imperial Menologion on the basis of information contained in these vitae. What is more, in the Vatican Menologion there are cases when the same saint is celebrated two or even three times, and each entry has its own miniature. It is possible that miniatures corresponding to illustrations of the March texts in the Moscow Menologion were in the non-extant second volume of the «Menologion» of Basil II for the second half of the year. Of the miniatures in the Athens fragments one differs substantially from the Vatican Menologion: the miniature for the vita of St.Themistocles (f. 1r) shows the executioner leading the saint to his death, while the corresponding miniature in the Vatican Menologion (p. 262, 21 December) depicts the execution itself. It is not known yet on which day the vita of St.Themistocles was celebrated in the Imperial Menologion. 48 In the miniatures of the Vatican manuscript a great deal of gold and silver is used, which is usually replaced by other colours in the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia. In the Imperial Menologia patterned textiles are depicted far more rarely, and the ornament as a whole is simpler and more modest, which is probably due to 47 THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 151 details, and sometimes even the same accidental errors 49 as those in the miniatures in the Vatican Menologion. In her recent work Nancy Patterson Ševčenko suggests that the miniatures of the Moscow Menologion were also copied from the Vatican manuscript 50, and I am inclined to share this view. It is to be hoped that further study of the texts of the different redactions of the Menologia and Synaxaria will make it possible to throw more light on this question. In any case, the miniatures of the Imperial and Vatican Menologia belong typologically to the same trend and stage of development in Byzantine painting. Since all four manuscripts were evidently executed by royal commission, it is quite likely that the master of the Imperial Menologia worked in the same court workshop as the artists of the Vatican Menologion 51, and was their successor. The very close resemblance the small dimensions of the miniatures and the more modest conditions of the commission. Nevertheless, the form of the ornament in the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia often reproduces corresponding motifs from the Vatican Menologion. See also PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, El «Menologio de Basilio II» cit., p. 246. 49 One such case has been noted by Ihor Ševčenko (ŠEVČENKO, The Illuminators cit., p. 268, n. 73, figs. 11, 12): the miniature with a representation of St. Theodore Stratelates in the Moscow Menologion (f. 25v) reproduces the excessively large angular palmettes decorating the walls of a building in the background in the corresponding miniature by Pantoleon from the Vatican Menologion (p. 383). On f. 3r of the Moscow Menologion the building on the left has the same sumptuous, heavy cornice as in the corresponding miniature by Symeon of Blachernai on p. 363 of the Vatican manuscript. On f. 10v of the Moscow Menologion, as in Pantoleon’s miniature on p. 372 of the Vatican Menologion, St. Abraham the Persian has disproportionately long shins. In both manuscripts the left leg of St. Agatha, who is tied to a post, is much smaller than the right and her loincloth forms identical asymmetrical folds (f. 14r of the Moscow Menologion and p. 373 of the Vatican manuscript). On f. 129v of the Moscow Menologion and p. 427 of the Vatican manuscript the executioners crucifying St. Nestor are depicted in identical strange and unnatural poses. In many miniatures of the Moscow manuscript the figures of the personages are cut off by a frame as in the Vatican Menologion, although there was quite enough space to show them in full. The miniature with Patriarch Tarasius from the Benaki Museum (f. 5v) reproduces exactly the left half of the corresponding miniature in the Vatican Menologion (p. 423), even down to the drawing and colour of the veins on the marble and the shape of the bushes; the buildings in the right half of the miniature are quite different, however. Whereas in the miniature showing Patriarch Tarasius from the Moscow manuscript (f. 113v), the right half of the Vatican miniature is reproduced exactly, although one of the two buildings is omitted (this case is also cited in PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, El «Menologio de Basilio II» cit., p. 247). There are many more examples of this kind. 50 PATTERSON ŠEVČENKO, El «Menologio de Basilio II» cit., p. 247. 51 Many specialists have expressed the opinion that all the manuscripts were executed in the same court workshop: WEITZMANN, Byzantine Miniature cit., p. 2; DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit., p. 109 and others. ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA 152 between Pantoleon’s style of painting and that of the master of the Imperial Menologia even suggests that their relationship was that of teacher and pupil. All these considerations make it impossible to accept the dating of the Moscow Menologion to the end of the 11th century and the Vatican Menologion to 979-989 proposed by Der Nersessian 52. Ihor Ševčenko suggested a later dating for the Menologion of Basil II: 1001-1016 53. This is the date of one of the versions of the Life of St. Athanasius the Athonite, which mentioned a well-known icon-painter by the name of Pantoleon, whom the scholar identifies as the main master of the Vatican Menologion. Pantoleon may have lived and worked twenty or thirty years earlier or later than this reference, of course. But the resemblance of his miniatures to the Imperial Menologia and the similarity of the work of George and Symeon of Blachernai to works of monumental painting of the second quarter of the 11th century speak in favour of a later dating of the Vatican Menologion, nearer to the end of the reign of Basil II (976-1025). The special trend in monumental painting in the second quarter of the 11th century, which reached its height in the mosaics and frescoes of Hosios Loukas and the Kievan Sophia, was a striking and unusual phenomenon for Byzantine art. Alongside it, however, existed a more moderate, compromise version of the style: see e.g. the mosaics of Nea Moni on Chios 54, the frescoes of Sophia of Ohrid 55, the composition showing Emperor Constantine Monomachus and Empress Zoe in the south gallery of Hagia Sophia See DER NERSESSIAN, Moskovskij menologij cit.; EAD., Remarks cit. In the opinion of Der Nersessian the Vatican Menologion was produced before 989 because on 26 October of that year, on the day commemorating the miraculous end of the earthquake of 740, there was another severe earthquake which is mentioned at the end of the entry for 26 October in the Synaxarium Sirmondianum, but is not mentioned in the Vatican Menologion. Yet the latter is a greatly reduced and adapted version of the Synaxarion and contains hardly any references to liturgical practice or real events. In spite of the absence of firm proof, this dating of the Vatican Menologion was accepted by most scholars for a long time. Thus, Kurt Weitzmann (WEITZMANN, Byzantine miniature cit., p. 2), comparing the miniatures of the Vatican and Baltimore menologia, remarked that in half a century (i.e., between 979-989 and 1034-1041) no changes of substance took place in the style of painting. 53 I. ŠEVČENKO, On Pantoleon the Painter, in Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik 21 (1972), pp. 241-249. 54 MOURIKI, Mosaics cit. 55 V. DJURIČ, Vizantijskie freski. Srednevekovaja Serbija, Dalmacija, Makedonija, Moskva 2000, pp. 26-30, 452, 453, 535-537. 52 THE MINIATURES OF THE IMPERIAL MENOLOGIA 153 in Constantinople 56. In these ensembles, as well as the overall tendency towards a more conventional and generalised treatment of large, monumental forms, the orientation on classical ideals is nevertheless preserved, and a softer, natural manner predominates in the depiction of the faces.The general spiritual and emotional tenor of this art is somewhat different: it lacks the same powerful ascetic force, the same categorical, maximalist element; it is closer to man and more commensurate with him, not renouncing the beauty of the earthly world, but striving to inspire and transfigure it. It is to this type of art from the second quarter to the middle of the 11th century that the miniatures of the Imperial Menologia [figs. 31, 32] belong, although the classical element in them is expressed far more strikingly. As we can see, two different trends co-existed in Byzantine painting of the first half of the 11th century. The more serene, picturesque and classical trend, which prevailed in the style of the book miniature during the reign of Basil II, did not disappear, but continued to develop simultaneously with the new, more conventional «ascetic» trend in monumental painting of the 1030s and 1040s. ANNA V. ZAKHAROVA T. WHITTEMORE, The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia at Istanbul. Third Preliminary Report. Work Done in 1935-1938. The Imperial Portraits of the South Gallery, Boston 1942, pp. 9-20; ID., A Portrait of the Empress Zoe and of Constantine IX, in Byzantion 18 (1946-1948), pp. 223-227; R. CORMACK, Interpreting the mosaics of S. Sophia at Istanbul, in Art History 4 (1981), pp. 131-149: 141-145. 56 Pag. 154 bianca 1. 2. Fig. 1. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 68v: St. Onesimus. – Fig. 2. Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 521, f. 25r: SS. Theopemptus and Theonas (© Walters Art Museum). 3. 4. Figs. 3.-4. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 220r, SS. Chrysanthus and Daria, and f. 244r, SS. Philetus, Lydia and their children (details). 5. 6. 7. Fig. 5. Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 521, f. 36r: Prophet Micah (© Walters Art Museum). – Figs. 6-7. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 149r, SS. Eutropius, Cleonicus and Basiliscus, and f. 210r, St. Alexis Man of God (details). 8. 9. 10. 11. Figs. 8, 10. Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 521, f. 96r, St. John Kalybites, and f. 129v, St. Athanasius the Great (details; © Walters Art Museum). – Figs. 9, 11. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 142r: SS. Athanasia and Andronicus (details). 12. 13. Fig. 12. Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 521, f. 28r: St. Paul of Thebes (© Walters Art Museum). – Fig. 13. Athens, Benaki Museum, Μπ. 71, f. 1r: St. Themistocles (© Benaki Museum). 14. 15. 16. 17. Fig. 14 and 17. Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 521, f. 105r,Veneration of the Apostle Peter’s Chains, and f. 203v, St. Timotheus (details; © Walters Art Museum). – Figs. 15-16. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 216v, Venerable St. Paul the Simple, and f. 179r, The Forty martyrs of Sebaste (details). 18. 19. Fig. 18. Paris, National Library of France, Coislin 20 (The Four Gospels), f. 10v: Evangelist Matthew © BnF). – Fig. 19. Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s Monastery, cod. Gr. 204 (Lectionary), f. 3r: St. Peter of Monobata. 20. 21. Fig. 20.Vatican Library,Vat. gr. 1613 («Menologion of Basil II»), p. 406: St. Maruthas (detail; © Bibl. Apost. Vatic.). – Fig. 21. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 210r: St. Alexius Man of God (detail). 22. 23. 24. Fig. 22.Vatican Library,Vat. gr. 1613 («Menologion of Basil II»), p. 405: SS. Porphyry, Julian and Theodulus (© Bibl. Apost.Vatic.). – Figs. 23-24. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 149r, SS. Eutropius, Cleonicus and Basiliscus, and f. 101r, SS. Archippus, Philemon and Apphia (details). 25. 26. Fig. 25. Vatican Library, Vat. gr. 1613 («Menologion of Basil II»), p. 383: St. Theodore Stratelates (detail; © Bibl. Apost. Vatic.). – Fig. 26. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 25v: St. Theodore Stratelates (detail). 27. 28. Fig. 27. Vatican Library, Vat. gr. 1613 («Menologion of Basil II»), p. 50: St. Januarius (detail; © Bibl. Apost. Vatic.). – Fig. 28. Phokis, Monastery of Hosios Loukas, fresco in the crypt of the catholicon: St. Mercurius. 29. 30. 31. 32. Fig. 29.Vatican Library,Vat. gr. 1613, p. 129: St. Abercius (detail; © Bibl. Apost.Vatic.). – Fig. 30. Phokis, Monastery of Hosios Loukas, mosaic in the narthex of the catholicon: St. Andrew (detail). – Fig. 31. Moscow, State Historical Museum, Syn. Gr. 183, f. 234v: SS. Trophimus and Eukarpion (detail). – Fig. 32. Chios, Nea Moni, mosaic in the catholicon: St. Longinus (detail).