International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Era Bushi Xhaferaj
, 
Painters and Patrons in Byzantine Period: Some Inscriptional Evidence from Albania
Ralitsa Rousseva
, 
Monuments of Orthodox Art in the Region of Berat (13
th
–14
th
Centuries). 
Historical Context and Iconographic Trends
Anestis Vasilakeris
, 
The Notions of Evolution and Change in the Career of Palaeologan Painters
Georgios Fousteris
, 
New Data on an “Official” Painter in Mystras
Nikolaos Papageorgiou
, 
Saint Joasaph, the Archbishop Symeon of Thessaloniki and the Painter Nephon
Prodromos Papanikolaou
, 
A Panel Icon of St. Panteleemon from Tilos. Uncovering a Late Byzantine Artwork

---

80
Elka Bakalova
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria; 
[e-mail]
Lyuben Domozetski
Sofia City Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; 
[e-mail]
The Newly Restored Frescoes of the 11
th
C. 
in the Church of St. Demetrius at Patalenitsa (Bulgaria)
In South Bulgaria, close to nowadays’ cities of Pazardzhik and Plovdiv, lies the village of 
Patalenitsa. During the Medieval ages the favourable location has been of strategic importance to 
the area, with its close proximity to main roads, but at the same time it was well protected in the 
mountain slopes of the Rhodope Mountains. During the Medieval ages a fortified city was founded. 
The Βατκούνιον fortress, mentioned by Byzantine authors was identified by remains discovered close 
to the village of Patalenitsa. The church of Saint Demetrius remains from Byzantine times. Its plan is 
a cross-in-square type. Many alterations have been done to the medieval construction later on.
In 2011-2012 the last phase of the restoration of the medieval mural paintings in the church of 
Saint Demetrius was carried out. The restoration was completed with the help of the A. G. Leventis 
Foundation and allows a thorough examination of the preserved fragments. The examination is 
mainly possible in three areas: 1) examination of the decorative program of the altar space; 2) 
examination of the iconography of the separate depictions of the saints; 3) style specifics. The lower 
registers of the altar include standing saints, amongst which are included not only bishops, but also 
monks, martyrs, holy women etc. The iconographic features of the altar program date before the end 
of the eleventh century. The remaining fragments on the western side of the eastern piers located 
under the cupola, in between which the templon of the medieval temple was probably located, are 
incredibly valuable for identifying the patron of the church. In Patalenitsa Saint Demetrius was 
depicted in his iconographic version, which shows that it probably dates from the eleventh century. 
Identifying Saint Demetrius on the pier also confirms the assumption that the medieval church was 
dedicated to the Thessaloniki martyr. Also the fact that the holy warriors were depicted in armor, 
instead of like martyrs in an age when both iconographic versions existed, suggests the connection 
of the temple to the Batkunion fortress. Historical sources show there have been a few sieges, the 
citizens and the guardians of the fortress probably relied on the patronage of the holy warriors. 
The Patalenitsa murals are an example of a planar linear trend in painting. Some iconographic 
features, the insecure poses, stiff gestures, the outlined typified faces, the geometricized and 
contingent folds suggest for an order, carried out separately from the artistic center. The closest 
stylistic parallel to the Patalenitsa murals could be pointed out in the painting of the church of 
Saint Sofia in Ochrid, the narthex of the Saint Sofia in Thessaloniki and the murals of a few other 
churches located on the territory of southwestern Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. The 
specified stylistic parallels point us in the direction that the mural paintings in Patalenitsa probably 
date from the middle or the second half of the eleventh century. The Patalenitsa church is incredibly 
intriguing because there are very few remaining monuments from this period and each one of them 
adds to our knowledge of Byzantine art. 

---

81