International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Jasmina S. Ćirić
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute for Art History, Belgrade, Serbia;
[e-mail]
Brickwork and Facade Narratology: The Apse of the Church
of St. John the Forerunner in the Convent of Lips in Constantinople
Visual narrative and viewer’s mental construct built upon understanding of the exterior 
architecture during the reign of Palaiologoi, relies on the specificity of brickwork and cognitive 
mechanisms of Byzantine society at the very end of 13
th
century. In defining of facade narratologies 
of utmost relevance is the exterior of the apse of the mausoleum in the Convent of Lips Monastery 
in Constantinople.
First part of this paper deals with the narrative voice of the apse brickwork ornaments. These 
ornaments - articulated in concrete and visually logical zones - address both to antiquarianism of 
used motives and posess substantial role in the architecture during the Palaiologan dynasty. When 
say antiquarianism in the architecture it is necessary to recall on – in contemporary manner said – 
encyclopedic
mise en scène of that time.

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The classical heritage was present in the Byzantine culture in all its phases, but during the 
Palaiologan period the links to the classical past were strengthened and “Hellenism”, that is the 
consciousness of usage of the ancient Greek language and culture. Flowering of court culture and 
encyclopedic approach not only did it make contacts with classical works, but some of its prominent 
representatives certainly saw Antiquity in three dimensions. In that sense one of the key thoughts and 
valuable mental frame for 
sensorial 
understanding of brickwork (on the apse and its contemporary 
visual comparanda) is contained in Theodore Metochites 
Seimeioseis Gnomikai
on the study of 
History where he declared that: “Even as plant requires water, only the ancients can provide the 
examples and guidance, to be inscribed on the image producing 
tablets of memory.”
Entire surface of the facade suddenly became at the end of 13
th
century vivid tapestry, sacred 
skin of the church. At the apse are set the brick patterns characterized by ornamental symmetries: 
an endless repetition of zigzags, diamond, swastikas-meander, whirling disci, Life giving Tree and 
specifically heraldic signs based on swastika which appeared frequently as apotropaic devices.
Second part of this paper aims to prove that episodic structure of the east wall of the St. John the 
Forerunner church provide performative interaction withing 13
th
century facade organisation, or how 
it was mentioned in the sources 
economy of the walls
. Thingness of the facade that flicker and appear to 
move caused by optic engagement of bricks stacked vertically and horizontally, also solar disci oriented 
the same way as swastikas above, reveal a relationship based on the cognitive impact on the viewer.
Having in mind Aby Warburg’s idea of 
Pathosformeln 
as «eloquent images (..) that visualize the 
processing of emotional energies into visual patterns» in this paper will be discussed the meaning of 
overall brickwork idea and what beholder perceived. Whether if viewer has in front of his eyes 
opus 
reticulatum
, tree of Life motif or changeable raw of swastika at the apse, these images are not merely 
a symbols. All ornaments at the east facade – except of recontextualizing of the antiquity – represent 
vortex of images which transmits to the viewer into a certain mental phenomena.