November 2006

THE PAINTED MONASTERIES OF BULGARIA

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society met on November 14th in the Maltings to hear a talk on “Europe’s Best Kept Secret; the Painted Monasteries of Bulgaria” by Mr John Osborne. Before the talk, the Chairman, Mrs. Frances Ashworth, welcomed all those present and announced that after the next meeting on December 19th there will be Christmas drinks in the Cellar Bar. She also said that there would be a theatre visit on Thursday February 8th to a matinee performance of Swan Lake on ice and bookings are now being taken for this popular event.

Mrs Ashworth then introduced the Speaker, Mr. John Osborne who is a lecturer and tour leader with special knowledge of the Painted Monasteries of Bulgaria. Bulgaria has a fascinating history and culture formed by so many different occupying races. The earliest exam~les of frescoes are in the painted chamber tombs, which date from Thracian times 4 to 5th century B.C. Some have pictures of horses as well as Hellenistic carvings. Since then Bulgaria has been occupied by Romans, Bulgars, Greeks, Turks and Russians who have all influenced the religious culture.

There are the remains of a Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, which have been restored and are in use today. There are also remains of the 5th century city walls, which are from the early Byzantine period and wooden houses with balconies, which were built as the towns grew in size. These houses occur elsewhere in Bulgaria and are being restored as art centres and museums.

Many churches and monasteries survived the Ottoman period as the Turks tolerated the Christians and so allowed them to continue. The monasteries have the most colourful and ornate religious art in Bulgaria and are relics of the strongholds of the Orthodox faith in the country. Bachkova Monastery was built in the 11th Century and restored in the 17th Century, with two tiled cupolas and the church in the centre of the complex. There are beautiful frescoes and the sanctuary screen is carved and gilded with colourful painted icons set into it. There are also frescos on the outside of the building giving a taste of the glories inside. Rila Monastery, founded in thelOth Century, is the largest and is situated in the mountains, which set off the spectacular architecture. There is a very fine arched and galleried courtyard outside the main monastic buildings and the church has the most beautiful frescos.

These are just two of the many Monasteries and churches that have survived the vicissitudes of occupation of other cultures and they are a moving history, with their libraries and paintings, of Bulgaria’s glorious past.