Medieval Murals: Painted Monasteries, Bucovina, Romania

I like to consider myself an appreciator of artistic things. I’ve always had a bit of a thing about medieval art (well, medieval stuff generally, really; dunno why). Perhaps I like the art of the period because of its boldness, its naivety, and its symbolism which is both transcendent and direct. I tend to get quite excited if I get the chance to see examples in situ, so to speak; which, since much art of the period addresses religious themes, often means visiting religious sites. One can seldom do this in the UK, since the Reformation resulted in a lot of this sort of thing being painted over or completely destroyed. As a generality, I find it quite irritating, to say the least, when fervent ideology causes artistically and culturally important objects to be smashed up. Mind you, I suppose some might argue that the very act of doing so is a cultural statement and therefore has its own value as a form of artistic expression. Beliefs create art; beliefs destroy it. Such is the way of things. Still, I cannot help but wonder what treasures have been lost and beautiful things obliterated for ideological reasons. All the more reason for me to enjoy the abroad religious arty stuff, then!

A highlight of my trip to Romania was seeing the painted monasteries of the Bucovina region, in the north-east. These are very unusual, since their exterior walls are lavishly painted with Byzantine-inspired frescoes showing episodes from Jesus’ life, heaven and hell, saints and prophets, and various religious cycles. These will have been used to help explain biblical stories to local villagers. King Stephen the Great (ruled 1457-1504) started constructing these monasteries, but apparently it was his son who decided that painting the outside as well as the inside of these buildings would be a good idea. It’s amazing that these works of art have survived not only the elements (this point particularly struck me on the day we visited as it rained copiously – typical! Hence, photographs are less brilliant than I'd like), but also various political upheavals over the centuries. A restoration programme was undertaken in the 1970s, I think because nationalism became seen by the Ceaucescu regime, wishing to pursue an independent foreign policy, as something of a bulwark against the Soviet Union, and the Eastern Orthodox Church was perceived as a nationalist symbol which would be helpful in this respect.

Our group visited the monasteries of Neamt, Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita, and Humor. Of these, Moldovita, Sucevita and Voronet have been designated alongside other painted monasteries as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993.

Neamt Monastery (below) is one of the oldest monasteries in Romania, the current church having been built in the late fifteenth century by Stephen the Great to replace the old church, which had been destroyed by an earthquake.

Voronet Monastery (below) was built by Stephen the Great in 1488 to commemorate victory in the Battle of Vaslui. It is known as ‘the Sistine Chapel of the East’ due to its distinctive blue frescoes.

Petru Rares, son of Stephen the Great, founded the monastery of Moldovita (below) in 1532, and its murals were completed in 1537.

above: Fresco showing the Siege of Constantinople.

Sucevita (below) was founded by Stephen the Great’s great-grandsons, and painted at the very end of the sixteenth century. It is the last monastery church to have its exterior painted in this way and is regarded as the pinnacle of the art form.

Humor (below) was constructed in 1530 on the site of an earlier church. The monastery was closed during the Habsburg era and didn’t reopen until 1990.

For further information:

ROMANIA's Painted Monastries and Churches in Bucovina, UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Voronet, Sucevita, Moldovita, Humor. (romaniatourism.com)