Newly discovered frescoes of Dionysius the Wise on display in Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral

Moscow, February 25, 2022

Photo: pravoslavie.ru Photo: pravoslavie.ru     

Visitors to the Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin will be able to see recently discovered frescoes of the iconographic master Dionysius the Wise for the next two years.

The iconography was discovered during the ongoing restoration process in the cathedral, the General Director of the Kremlin Museums Elena Gagarina told Ivestiya earlier this month.

When the restorers started their work, they had to remove part of the iconostasis and clear the surfaces of later writing, revealing previously unknown frescoes, painted by Dionysius and his workshop.

The frescoes in question are the lower parts of the Synaxis of the Mother of God and Nativity of St. John the Forerunner compositions, and two new figures belonging to the Praise of the Mother of God’ composition.

They pre-date the main extant ensemble of wall paintings by nearly a century and a half, Gagarina said in 2020.

“Gradually, we’re discovering more and more frescoes that are behind the altar. Realizing that they’re very interesting and important for researchers, we decided not to close them for at least two years,” Gagarina said, noting that anyone can see them.

According to the chief restorer, the frescoes are in excellent condition for their age. Dionysius, considered the successor to St. Andrei Rublev, was known as the head of the Moscow school of iconography at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries.

Dionysius is also known for his frescoes in the Nativity of the Theotokos Cathedral in Ferapontovo, which are believed to comprise the only ensemble of the great Russian master to have survived to our day in their original form. In 2019, 40 years of conservation work on the frescoes came to an end.

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2/25/2022

See also
“Saints Adorning an Ancient Cathedral.” History in Frescoes “Saints Adorning an Ancient Cathedral.” History in Frescoes
Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov) “Saints Adorning an Ancient Cathedral.” History in Frescoes “Saints Adorning an Ancient Cathedral.” History in Frescoes
Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)
In honor of the 625th anniversary of Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery, a photo album, Saints Adorning an Ancient Cathedral, dedicated to the frescoes of the Cathedral of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, built in the early eighteenth century, was published. The album presents the most vivid and expressive images, preserving a special artistic beauty. A Bright Story of Adolf Nikolaevich Ovchynnikov, the Man Who Helped Save Georgia’s Cave Frescoes A Bright Story of Adolf Nikolaevich Ovchynnikov, the Man Who Helped Save Georgia’s Cave Frescoes
Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov) A Bright Story of Adolf Nikolaevich Ovchynnikov, the Man Who Helped Save Georgia’s Cave Frescoes A Bright Story of Adolf Nikolaevich Ovchynnikov, the Man Who Helped Save Georgia’s Cave Frescoes
Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)
It’s even hard to imagine today how someone could have done it during those years. An eccentric, living in the Georgian caves, who for no apparent reason paints reproductions from the abandoned frescoes. New sections of 15th-century frescoes discovered in Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral New sections of 15th-century frescoes discovered in Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral New sections of 15th-century frescoes discovered in Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral New sections of 15th-century frescoes discovered in Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral
Very few frescoes from the late 15th-early 16th centuries have survived in Russia, therefore, the frescoes of the Dormition Cathedral are very important and highly valued.
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