THE LEGEND OF SR, GEORGE IN THE VESTIBULE OF THE LOVNICA MONASTERY – PART THREE

The third and last part of the story about the frescoes of St. George in the vestibule of the Lovnica monastery talks about the frescoes on the western and northern walls of the vestibule.

PHOTO: Manastir Lovnica

Performances of torture continue on the western wall with the scene "Piercing with spears". In the middle is Đorđe with a belt around his thighs, tied to a pillar. On the side are two torturers with long spears in their hands. Both spears were buried in the martyr's back. The scene takes place in a tame landscape, and you can see the grass. Spatially related to this composition is the performance "Torture in a burning chalk".

Short screws of swirling lines depict a red-hot limestone in which the saint stands resignedly. No traces of burns can be seen on his body. These two scenes above have the same background in three colors: green below with a rocky foreground, then reddish and finally blue. The last scene of torture is "Tearing with red-hot tongs".

On the rocks, from the cracks of which some field flowers grow, the saint lies on his stomach, hands and feet tied. Two executioners are standing above him, tearing the flesh from his back with red-hot tongs. The naturalism in the presentation of this scene is interesting. With a meticulousness worthy of the Middle Ages, the master painted the red-hot pincers and the scorched skin where it is plucked. The torturers are dressed as if for some kind of ceremony, in rich short dresses with a golden border around the neck and along the hem. The background on this fresco is also in zones. Yellow below, then green and blue above.

This ends the torture scenes and begins the scenes from the realm of miracles, of which only two are shown: "The fall of the idol from the temple" and "The resurrection of Glikeri's ox".

The first scene shows a church with a dome, on a polygonal tambour and bell tower, and its three-sided apse is facing the viewer. In front of the church there is a wall with two prongs. To the left of the church, in an imposing figure, stands St. George. In his left hand he holds a cross with a long handle, and he extended his right hand towards the church. His pose is dignified and calm, and in terms of dimensions, he is equal to a church building, which certainly has symbolism. Idols fall from the church, four dark brown demons with wings, tails and disheveled hair. Behind the scene is painted a simple building with a gabled roof and an elevation, i.e. with a tower in the middle.

In the second scene "Resurrection of Glikeri's ox", a standing figure of the saint can be seen. In his left hand he holds a great hymnal cross, and with his right he blesses, i.e. resurrects the ox. In front of him stands an old man from Glikerija with his hands extended towards Đorđe in a sign of supplication. A yellow ox stands next to the old man, and the brown one lies dead. The oxen are harnessed to the plow. The earth is sown with wheat. The background is ocher yellow and blue in the zones.

On the northern wall, only a representation of the beheading of St. George is painted. In a rocky landscape, Saint George stands with his hands bent, his back bent. He is dressed in white stihar with a golden border. In front of him stands an executioner holding a sword in his right hand. The scene is closed by a background painted in pink, green and blue, again in zones.

This concludes the cycle of paintings from the legend of St. George in the vestibule of the Lovnica monastery. There are two more individual representations of the saint. In the lintel of the door leading from the narthex to the nave, Saint George is depicted in a rich warrior's suit, sitting on a large, sumptuous throne. He holds a spear in his right hand, and rests his left on a sword. The inevitable play "Saint George Kills the Dragon" is located in the lintel of the outer door of the chancel.

With the story about the frescoes on the west and north side of the wall of the Lovnica cloister, we end the series of stories about the "Legend of St. George in the cloister of the Lovnica Monastery", which was written in three parts, in order to describe the frescoes in as much detail as possible. This series does not contain photos from the monastery church, because we respected the monastery's regulations that photography of the interior is prohibited. However, in order to experience the Lovnica frescoes in the most beautiful way, to experience the spiritual power of Lovnica, it is best to take the Šeković route and spend a day in the monastery itself and its surroundings and relive the letters and lines you read in these three texts.

Literature: Articles and materials for the cultural history of Eastern Bosnia, Milica Baum