Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)

The present paper offers some thoughts on and a new interpretive frame of the painted program of the small, single-nave church of Saint Basil in Mržep, in the vicinity of Donji Stoliv, in the Vrmac peninsula near Kotor, Montenegro. This monument stands out for the abundance of available information...

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Main Author: Bacci Michele
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute for Balkan Studies SASA 2024-01-01
Series:Balcanica
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Online Access:https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455123B.pdf
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author Bacci Michele
author_facet Bacci Michele
author_sort Bacci Michele
collection DOAJ
description The present paper offers some thoughts on and a new interpretive frame of the painted program of the small, single-nave church of Saint Basil in Mržep, in the vicinity of Donji Stoliv, in the Vrmac peninsula near Kotor, Montenegro. This monument stands out for the abundance of available information on its history, including the name of the painter (Mihailo), the identity of the donor (Stefan Kalođurđević) and even the date of its construction and pictorial decoration (1451). Nevertheless, the art-historical debate has been mostly puzzled by the melange, Latin-Byzantine character of the painted images, which has been explained as an outcome of the Union of the Orthodox and Roman churches declared at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-1439. The analysis provided here emphasizes the scarcity of indications about the impact of the latter’s resolutions on the arts and proposes an alternative interpretation that associates the choice of specific forms with the devotional strategies worked by Stefan Kalođurđević for his and his family’s spiritual health.
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spelling doaj-art-66f6327daa83470693cfbb91e96b3dcd2025-01-30T06:44:47ZengInstitute for Balkan Studies SASABalcanica0350-76532406-08012024-01-0120245512316010.2298/BALC2455123B0350-76532455123BLatin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)Bacci Michele0Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, SwitzerlandThe present paper offers some thoughts on and a new interpretive frame of the painted program of the small, single-nave church of Saint Basil in Mržep, in the vicinity of Donji Stoliv, in the Vrmac peninsula near Kotor, Montenegro. This monument stands out for the abundance of available information on its history, including the name of the painter (Mihailo), the identity of the donor (Stefan Kalođurđević) and even the date of its construction and pictorial decoration (1451). Nevertheless, the art-historical debate has been mostly puzzled by the melange, Latin-Byzantine character of the painted images, which has been explained as an outcome of the Union of the Orthodox and Roman churches declared at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-1439. The analysis provided here emphasizes the scarcity of indications about the impact of the latter’s resolutions on the arts and proposes an alternative interpretation that associates the choice of specific forms with the devotional strategies worked by Stefan Kalođurđević for his and his family’s spiritual health.https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455123B.pdfkotormontenegromržepstefan kalođurđevićbyzantine-latin artistic interactionscouncil of ferrara-florence
spellingShingle Bacci Michele
Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
Balcanica
kotor
montenegro
mržep
stefan kalođurđević
byzantine-latin artistic interactions
council of ferrara-florence
title Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
title_full Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
title_fullStr Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
title_full_unstemmed Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
title_short Latin-Byzantine artistic interactions and the church of Saint Basil in Mržep (Montenegro)
title_sort latin byzantine artistic interactions and the church of saint basil in mrzep montenegro
topic kotor
montenegro
mržep
stefan kalođurđević
byzantine-latin artistic interactions
council of ferrara-florence
url https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2024/0350-76532455123B.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT baccimichele latinbyzantineartisticinteractionsandthechurchofsaintbasilinmrzepmontenegro