ARTIFACT #1 P
My Seven Wonders- Eleni Souroulidi
As a Humanities student, Eleni Souroulidi visited the Byzantium museum, the Islamic museum and the Mystra site. She saw rare artifacts, unusual paintings of saints and uniquely structured churches. She got a deeper understanding of the connection between natural environment and architecture and she also learned how to identify particular parts of a church by using specific terms. Seeing and learning so many different things, Eleni chose seven of her favorite artifacts.
ARTIFACT #2 PHOTO/S
HOTO/SKETCH On my visit to Mystra with the humanities class on October 20, 2012, we looked at many antediluvian churches. The one I liked the most was the church of Perivleptos. It dates back to 1350 and what makes it unique is the fact that the aps is on the northwest façade instead of being on the east. This is because the church is connected to a mountain range. The masonry on the aps is enclosed brick and the rest of the structure is made out of rubble. Perivleptos has its own chapel with its own dome. What struck me the most about this church were the well preserved frescoes. ARTIFACT #3 PHOTO/
While observing the frescoes in Perivleptos, the one \ which caught my eye was The Nativity. The difference between this fresco and the icons usually KETCH found in Byzantine churches is the portrayal of the humanistic idea. The Nativity depicts human figures instead of Saints. Therefore, it breaks away from the rigidity and perfection which are present in the typical Byzantine icons. What struck me in particular was the perceived movement that resulted from the curved lines of the bodies. The fresco gives a sense of volume from the use of light and shadow. What makes this fresco one of my favorites is the symbolism is carries. Specifically, the cave surrounding Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus symbolizes the actual cave within Periplevtos.
The last church we saw on the Mystra site was the Holly Theodores church which was built SKETCH 1290 to 1296. What is interesting about between this structure is the octagon floor plan. The church has a great dome which is supported by eight arches. These arches form the octagon, unlike the usual cross-in-square churches. Holly Theodores’ masonry combines rubble and enclosed brick. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the church’s interior, however, we peaked through the window and we saw that all the frescoes were gone except for a depiction of Virgin Mary in gold.Without the frescoes, the walls of the church looked lighter and fortified.