The Romania circuit - the afternoon of the fourth day - The Moldovita Monastery (outside) - the 23rd of May 2012

We headed towards the Moldovita Monastery, one of the several painted monasteries of Southern Bucovina, this having been the main reasons as to why we selected this circuit.

Grigore Rosca, Metropolitan of Moldavia in the mid fifteenth century is credited with the idea of covering the churches' outer walls with paintings of Biblical events for the benefit of the illiterate faithful.  Its frescoes essentially Byzantine  have been infused with the local folk art and mythology an though very little is known about the  artists their skills were such that after  450 years of exposure the paintings are still  fresh.

We were absolutely dazzled by its "grandeur" the moment we set eyes on it ... even from a distance.

 

The Moldovita Monastery was founded in 1532 by Stephen the Great's illegitimate son, Petru Rares, during whose reign the Turks had finally compelled Moldavia  to pay tribute and acknowledge Ottoman suzerainty. The Monastery was painted bot in its inside and out by Toma of Suceva in 1537.

The open porch contains a fine Last Judgement showing a crowd of dignitaries growing agitated as one a demon drags one of their number, said to be Herod, by his beard towards the fires below (first three photos below).

All the compositions  are set on an intense blue background that does impact the visitors and from the parade of Saints and philosophers on the east end to the tree of Jesse on the south wall one inevitably had to recognise those frescoes as the rightfully acclaimed masterpieces of Art that they are.

We were guided all the way through the historical and religious events on those walls by a sister who has been long acknowledged as being an expert in regards to the Moldovita Museum frescoes.

 

Amongst the precious explanations we were called the attention to a revisionist Siege of Constantinopla along the bottom of one of the walls depicting Christians routing the infidel with arrows and cannons and miraculous icons being paraded along the ramparts (bottom).

(To be continued)