Several icons from the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova reproduce in their compositions the miracle that would have been performed around the beginning of the 10th century in the church of Mother of God of Vlacherne in Constantinople. According to the legend, the townspeople retreated to the place for fear of an invasion that threatened the capital of the empire. The gathered crowd prayed incessantly, asking the Blessed Virgin to save the city. In the church of Vlacherne, her ancient vestments, which are said to make miracles, have been preserved for centuries. Among the Christians praying in the church was Saint Andrew the Fool-For-Christ, who came with his disciple Epiphanius, who would later become the Patriarch of Constantinople Polyevkt. After hours of fervent prayers, Saint Andrew was worthy to see the Mother of God passing through the royal doors with a procession of saints, who rose above the crowd, praying together with those present. In the end, the Blessed Virgin spread her garment over the crowd, as a sign of defense and protection, leaving the place. Also, from the legend we know that the city was really saved then.
Later, in memory of this miracle, the Church will order the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, celebrated on October 1/14.
The composition of the exposed icon highlights the interior of the Vlacherne church. In the upper register, in a radiate oval mandorla, the Mother of God soars on the clouds, holding the omophorus in her hands. She wears loose robes, trimmed with gold thread, beneath which red, gilded shoes can be seen. In the lower register, in the center of the gathered crowd, Romanos the Melodist is depicted sitting on the pulpit with the timetable in his hands, his head being framed by a radiant nimbus. He is dressed in festive robes, of the same shades as the vestments of the Mother of God. Romanus the Melodist is surrounded by several ecclesiastical faces and simple people, including Saint Andrew, who urges his disciple Epiphanie to look up at the miracle that was taking place in the church. The appearance of the hymnographer Romanos the Melodist (490-556) in this composition is not accidental. The young deacon began his activity in the Vlacherne church, where, five centuries later, Saint Andrew experienced his miraculous revelation. The legend tells that it was the Mother of God who endowed the young man with the grace of a wonderful voice, he later glorified her in his songs, writing, in all probability, the Akathist Hymn of the Mother of God. The Church commemorates Romanos the Melodist on October 1/14, the same day when the Protection of the Mother of God is commemorated.
The icon comes from the 19th century, from one of the workshops in southern Russia, being painted in tempera on a wooden support with dimensions 59x90x3 cm.
Portrait of Maria (Lupu) Radziwill in the works of the Polish painter Korneli Szlegiel (1851)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Keywords: Polish painter Korneli Szlegiel, Maria (Lupu) Radziwill, frescoes of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church, historical and cultural heritage.
Abstract: This article is an attempt to critically review the visual documentation regarding the Vasile Lupu time that are of great interest for the Romanian and Polish historiography. We tried to compare some fragments from the life of Maria (Lupu) Radziwill with her preserved visual images. The groundwork of this scientific approach are illustrated sources of the epoch, in particular the frescoes in the Three Holy Hierarchs Church of Iași, which have been renovated during 1880s, and the portrait created by Szlegiel in 1851 that preserved the original images of the church frescoes before their renovation. Our study substantiates the authenticity and singularity of the Korneli Slegiel's portrait depicting the royal family of Vasile Lupu for the reason that it preserves the original appearance of the 17th century frescoes. Unknown drawing made by Korneli Szlegiel was discovered in the Warsaw National Mseum (Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie) in 2015. The images were exposed to interdisciplinary research, being examined from a purely artistic perspective as well as a cultural and historical point of view. The data of this study might be the basis of a subsequent reliable restoration of frescoes of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Three Holy Hierarchs Church of Iași in 1845 (J. Rey). Fig. 2. Iași press chronicle on the activity of the painter Korneli Szlegiel in Iași (1851). Fig. 3. Portrait of Vasile Lupu's family in the Three Holy Hierarchs Church of Iași, by Korneli Szlegiel, 1851 (The National Museum of Warsaw). Fig. 4. Vasile Lupu's family, the votive portrait in the Three Holy Hierarchs Church. Fragments of frescoes recovered in 1888 and preserved in the Museum of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church, the Gothic Room. Fig. 5. The image of Princess Maria Lupu (Radziwill) on a fresco of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church. Fig. 6. Portrait of Tudosca and Maria Lupu (Radziwill) on a fresco of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church recovered in 1888. Fig. 7. Portraits of Tudosca, Maria and Ruxandra from the Three Holy Hierarchs Church, reproduced by Korneli Szlegiel in 1851. Fig. 8. Portrait of Catherine the Circassian in the Golia Church. Fig. 9. Embroidered portrait of Tudosca (17th century) from the Museum of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church. Fig. 10. Votive portrait from the Three Holy Hierarchs Church painted in 1884.
Lilia Zabolotnaia
The strength and weakness of Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova-Rosset (on the history of the origins of one of the women of the Pushkin era)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
Helena Krasowska, The Polish Minority in South-Eastern Ukraine. Warsaw: Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2017, 389 p. ISBN: 978-83-64031-65-6
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
The destiny of woman in the history of Moldavia. Myths and realities about Catherine the Circassian – the second wife of the hospodar Vasile Lupu
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Лилия Заболотная
Dmitry Lazarevich Tumarkin: Labyrinths of Fate. Pages from the history of the outstanding medical dynasty of the Tumarkins
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XV [XXX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
Marriage institution during middle ages: obstacles and prohibitions. Exploration of historical anthropology and comparative studies
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Several icons from the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova reproduce in their compositions the miracle that would have been performed around the beginning of the 10th century in the church of Mother of God of Vlacherne in Constantinople. According to the legend, the townspeople retreated to the place for fear of an invasion that threatened the capital of the empire. The gathered crowd prayed incessantly, asking the Blessed Virgin to save the city...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
