The article deals with a little known ensemble of wall paintings at the Church of the Saviour in Chvabiani, Upper Svaneti, Georgia. The initial decoration of the church dated to 978– 1001 has survived mainly in the apse. The badly preserved Theophany in the conch attracted the attention of scholars who analyzed its iconography. The Apostles in the lower zone, however, were considered to be repainted at a later date. Our examination of these wall paintings revealed no traces of later additions. Through the analysis of technique and style we aim to prove that the both compositions belong to the turn of the tenth to eleventh century. These wall paintings show unusually high quality and close affinities with Byzantine art of this period. In our view, they could be a work of a visiting artist, probably a Georgian trained at some major Byzantine artistic center. He may well have been among the artists working on wall paintings at the cathedrals built and decorated by order of kings and church hierarchs during the late tenth to early eleventh centuries, in Tao-Klarjeti or other lands of the Georgian kingdom still under formation.

The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Georgia, Known as the burial site of the claimed Christ's tunic, has long been one of the principal Georgian Orthodox churches and is among the most venerated places of worship in the region. The present structure was completed in 1029, but the original church was built in fourth century A.D, after events, that resulted the Christianization of Georgia. In this paper, my special attention will be drown to painted ciborium in svetitskhoveli Church, under which the robe of Jesus Christ is said to have been buried. This architectural structure is called “life giving pillar”, named after the legendary, one of the most important and miraculous moments in Georgian Christianity, connected with St. Nino of Cappadocia, the Enlightener of Georgia. According the legend St. Nina of Cappadocia came to Georgia with the special cross, given her by Mother of God - the greatest secret objects of Georgian Orthodox Church. The Ciborium is covered with frescos, depicting St. Nino’s life and miracles. These scenes not only tell of an events from St. Nino’s life, but they are also connected to the legend about Christ’s Mantle and represented as an images, implying the national notion and very ancient history of Christianity in Georgia. Frescos on the walls of Ciborium in Svetitskhoveli dated back to seventeenth century (in Georgia the Middle Ages lasted until nineteenth century) – the date and the names of Donator and Painter are written on the ciborium itself. The question is, why in seventeenth century, Catholicos of Georgia made decision to decorated “life giving pillar” with the scenes from events connected with Christianization of Georgia. Historical facts indicate that the frescos of ciborium in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral reflect mood of national identity, which had been increased significantly over this period.

An octagonal structure, now beneath a hotel in Istanbul, appears to be the chapel of Saint Jacob, which is recorded in the Patria as being built by the Byzantine emperor Justin II (565-578) and his wife Sophia. Cyril Mango identified the chapel and photographed two then-visible fragments of paintings which he dated to the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. When published in 1970, the paintings were considered to have disappeared; however, they are still extant along with others apparently not visible at that time. This paper considers the cycle of paintings in relation to the Church of the Theotokos Chalkoprateia, one of the most important churches in Constantinople. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to fragmentary late byzantine wall paintings in istanbul which had been thought to be lost, but do in fact survive.

The Khakhuli Dome Decoration. Eschatological and Historical Contexts-The complex decorative program in the dome of the main church at the Khakhuli Monastery features a combination of eschatological symbols and historical references. The iconography of the Apparition of the Cross, which usually carries triumphal and eschatological connotations, is also associated with a historical context that recalls the fulfilment of the Conversion of Kartli. In the Khakhuli dome, the Ascension of the Prophet Elijah, presented alongside the Vision of the Cross, further emphasizes the "national" context of the Georgian Orthodox Church, alluding to one of Georgia's most precious preserved relics-Elijah's Mantle buried in the Svet'itskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta together with the "unwoven Chiton" of Christ. The reference in Khakhuli to the former capital of Kartli, the "New Jerusalem" of Georgia, has both symbolic and political connotations, as it demonstrates the spiritual unity of Georgia and anticipates the ideas of its political unification. The reference to one of the most important Old Testament relics, which was considered a palladium of medieval Georgia, may also reflect the political aspirations of the Georgian ruler vis-à-vis his counterpart in the neighboring Byzantine Empire.

The paper deals with an “archaic group” of the palimpsest wall paintings found in the north chapel (labeled diakonikon by the inscription) of the main rock-cut church of Udabno Monastery in Gareji. Previously it was considered to present the earliest life cycle of St. Davit Garejeli’s Life. The above consideration existed despite the fact that the mural program does not show correlation with existing hagiographic text. Based on the thorough analysis, existence of the scenes from the life narrative of St. Davit Garejeli in the north chapel has been rejected and a new explanation was given.

St. Grigol Khandzteli (759-861) and her followers' monastery construction operations in the Tao-Klarjeti region, as well as the art works of these monasteries, indicate that the foundations of the Medieval Georgian Art Academy were built in the region. The Painted Chapel, the subject of our study, is a part of this tradition. It has a single nave. It is dated to 12th-13th centuries AD. Contrary to what was claimed, our research in 2022 discovered that the chapel architecture differed from traditional Byzantine architecture and was built in the Georgian architectural style. It has been established that the medieval Georgian painting art, which grew under the influence of Byzantine art, attained a local quality. There are scenes showing Jesus' First Bath, Baptism, the Virgin Mary, and Warrior Saints. An inscription written in the old Georgian alphabet Asomtavruli was discovered. The inscription offers information about the chapel's history and the clergy. Analysis measurements were taken using μ-XRF, μ-Raman, and μ-FT-IR analytical instruments on samples taken from the chapel's plaster layer and the paints on this layer. The chapel's walls are painted in the secco fresco technique and are composed of a matrix of white plaster lime, sandstone (feldspar, quartz), limestone, and embedded aggregates. Red and yellow ocher pigments for red, burgundy, orange, and yellow colours; Carbon black and lazurite pigments for black and gray colours; Lazurite, barite and ultramarine blue pigments for light blue; Calcite lime white and calcium carbonate pigments are defined for the white colour. Plaster and pigments (except blue paint) were most likely made and supplied locally or regionally. This provides information regarding the technical knowledge of the Vank Valley residents.

The village of Vithkuq is distributed in an uneven, highland territory in south-east Albania, near the city of Korça. The villagers, who were part of the Greek-orthodox religion, during a well economically developed time in the 17th and 18th century, they enriched Vithkuqi with circa 14 churches and a monastery. Today, in this monastery, are found only 2 churches in damaged conditions. The small mortal church of Saint Cosmas and Damian and the main church, which holds the same name as the monastery, Saint Peter and Paul. Both of these churches are decorated with miraculous murals from the famous Albanian painters, the brothers Kostandin and Athanas Zografi. Konstandin and Athanas Zografi are the painters with the widest activity during the 18th century and are known for their works in and outside the country. Their mural paintings can be really observed from 1744 until 1783, so for 24 years. The amount of work, and the fact that they were required to paint in the Mount Athos, were o...