Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin belongs to the Snetogorsk Monastery. The chronicle tells that in 1299 the Livonian knights attacked the city of Pskov, plundered and burned the monastery, killed 17 monks and the founder of the monastery, hegumen Iosaph. Prince Dovmont expelled the enemy and ordered to build a new stone cathedral on the site of the burnt down Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. The will of the prince was fulfilled in 1310-1311. The model for the new church was the local Transfiguration Cathedral, which belongs to the Mirozh Monastery. In 1313, the Mother of God Cathedral was painted with frescoes and became the main monastery shrine.
In the 15th century, a narthex appeared at the cathedral. After 100 years, this vestibule was probably broken, and a larger annex was erected on the western side of the temple, which has survived to this day. The doorway of this building was decorated with paintings, and a fresco was located in a large niche, located above and occupying the middle third of the outer wall. In addition, frescoes were also placed in the niches of the side facades of the cathedral. Perhaps they have already been here since the XIV century, and in the XVI they were only restored. The ancient interior painting of the cathedral has been renewed.
In 1581, after the invasion of the city by the troops of Batory, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and its frescoes were severely damaged, and at the end of the 16th century the paintings were whitewashed. Until now, they remained under layers of whitewash.
In the 17th century, a vestibule was added to the existing annex from the west. At the entrance to it, an open porch was built, generously decorated on the outside with glazed tiles of green color, and on the inside with a decor of figured bricks with rich colors. This porch hid a 16th century fresco. At the end of the 17th century, a hipped roof was built over the cathedral.
The last major alterations of the cathedral took place in the 18th century. A large building was added to its western side, which included parts of the narthex (made in the 17th century) and its porch. The side-altars made in this annex from the north and south were connected by openings carved into the old walls with a part of the building dating back to the 16th century.
In 1909, the disclosure of the frescoes from under the whitewash began. It was periodically renewed in the 1920-1930s and was completed in 1948-1949. However, in 1985, during the restoration of the frescoes of the cathedral, very extensive areas of previously unknown images were revealed. It should be noted that the most important discoveries were made in the skoufier of the dome and the conch of the altar, that is, in the places that were of prime importance for evaluating the painting program.
The main elements of the painting of the Theotokos Cathedral demonstrate a true appeal to the samples of painting of the 12th century, which, first of all, include the dome fresco "Ascension". It is dominated by the massive figure of Christ sitting on a rainbow and carried by 6 angels. The rest of the composition has been lost. In addition, the images in the altar of the temple are the focus of the ideological content of the frescoes.
The figures of the high priests are depicted on the north and south arches of the cathedral. On the eastern slope of the southern arch you can see Samuel - an old man with a long beard, on the western slope of the northern arch - the figure of Aaron, recognizable by the remains of an accompanying inscription, while on the eastern slope, most likely, the prophet Moses is depicted in the attire of the high priest. The frescoes on the walls and vaults of the cathedral's under-dome space are divided into several thematic groups.
The apotheosis of the murals is the Last Judgment fresco, which barely fits into the western nave of the church. It was here that local masters established the beginning of a new school of painting. As a result of the analysis of the paintings, it was concluded that Snetogorsk painting is the source of the Pskov iconographic tradition. Snetogorsk painting is distinguished by a paradoxical combination of a certain naivety and heightened emotionality, virtuosity of performance and deliberate restriction of artistic techniques, free handling of the architectonic principles of fresco decoration and monumentality of thinking, literary narrative and dogmatic depth of the images created.
One of the main features of the Snetogorsk frescoes is their color, built on a combination of close dark tones: purple and dark purple, brown and red ocher, olive green, against which piercing spots stand out light yellow halos, rich white pearls, modest blotches of cinnabar, highlighting folds and, as a rule, a large number of accompanying inscriptions.
