Murals of Old Russia

In an Orthodox church the walls themselves become an icon. From the dome to the floor, painted images set out a complete view of the faith: Christ the Pantocrator above, the Virgin in the apse, the feasts of the Church year in the vaults, and saints and martyrs filling the lower walls. This section is devoted to the monumental wall painting of medieval and early modern Russia. It begins with the mosaics and frescoes of St Sophia in Kiev and the twelfth-century churches of Novgorod and Vladimir. It goes on to the frescoes of Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev, and to Dionisy's luminous paintings at Ferapontov Monastery. It closes with the vast, crowded ensembles of seventeenth-century Yaroslavl, Kostroma and Rostov. Murals rarely leave their buildings, so each article is tied to a place: who built the church, who paid the painters, how the programme was arranged and what has survived war, fire, overpainting and restoration.