International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Aneta Serafimova
University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”, Faculty of Philosophy, Skopje,
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
[e-mail]
The Kosmas Cosmos and Representations of Psalm 148, 149 and 150: 
A Case Study of the ‘Praise the Lord’ Icon from the Museum of Macedonia (Skopje)
Scholarly analyses of a theme which is among the most complex in Byzantine visual syntax – the 
illustration of Psalms 148, 149:1 Praise ye the Lord (KJV) and 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath 
praise the Lord (KJV), integrated in a single painterly unit – must undertake an interdisciplinary ap-
proach encompassing theological (eschatological-eucharistic), philosophical, linguistic and musico-
logical research if they hope to ascend to its mystical-dogmatic dimension. Central to our approach 
regarding the analysis of the visual aspects of the ‘Praise the Lord’ theme is the recognition of the cos-
mological theory of Kosmas Indicopleustes elaborated in his Christian Topography (especially in Book 
IV and Book V) as a conceptual diagram where we discern the sections πρώτος οΰρανóς, στερέωμα, 
ΰδωρ, γή, 
̀
ωκεανóς. Namely, Kosmas proposed (Kominko 2013: 2, 215) “a cosmology where the physi-
cal and the temporal structure of the world were determined by the function of the cosmos as a setting 
for the divine plan of salvation. The universe, based on the flat, rectangular earth, was covered by the 
vault of heaven, and divided by the firmament into two superimposed spaces, which corresponded to 
two conditions of human existence - the earthly present and the heavenly future. The form of cosmos 
was symbolically revealed in the structure of the tabernacle built by Moses, while the progression 
of humanity towards the heavenly condition was marked by patriarchs, prophets and saints, who in 
words and deeds confirmed the reality of the heavenly things to come.”
The main subject of our observation in the context of the approach previously outlined is 
the icon titled Praise the Lord, originating from the Kučevište Monastery of the Holy Archangels, 
a precious jewel in the collection of the Museum of Macedonia in Skopje (inv. no. 372), its visual 
composite having not yet received the scientific attention it so richly deserves.
While the depiction of this complex thematic unit is rarely found in the Central Balkans, the icon 
is one of four preserved illustrations of Psalms 148, 149 and 150 on the territory of present-day Repub-
lic of Macedonia. The others are found in the narthexes of the Church of the Presentation of the Holy 
Virgin in the Temple/Holy Salvation (1332-1337) in Kučevište, of the Lesnovo Monastery (1349) and of 
the Pološko Monastery (1609). Representations are also found in applied art, on two doors in the Slepče 
and one door in the Treskavec Monastery. All will be included in the study as comparative materials.
Neatly divided in zones, the icon’s three registers – one heavenly and two earthly – depict nearly 
every line of the psalms. The dense pictorial content of the icon renders the cosmological diagram 
which is the formal basis for the scene almost invisible. We discern iconographic correlatives to its 
rich visual narrative in post-Byzantine wall painting in Epirus, Thessaly (Meteora) and Mount Athos 
(Koutloumousiou), while the cosmological concept based on the treatise of Kosmas Indicopleustes 
we regard as dominant in a number of Russian icons on the ‘Praise the Lord’ theme from the 16-19 
century. In addition, our case study should allow for greater precision in the dating (around 1591) 
and the attribution of the icon.

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