Trabzon Sumela Monastery part 8 : Manuel III and Andronikos

In spite of the fact that the architectural and artistic value of this structure is disputable it has been regarded in recent years as the most important part of Sumela. However, it is the church in one corner of the inner courtyard that is the most important. The church was formed by hewing away the rock of the cave interior to create a smoother surface and closing the mouth of the cave with a straight wall. Abutting the latter is a small chapel which juts out from the wall. The inside and outside walls of the chapel were adorned with layer upon layer of frescos from the 18th century onwards and in some places three layers can be clearly discerned. The bottom layer is superior to the others in terms of colour and quality. The change in subject-matter discernable in each layer is interesting and inscriptions stating that these works were executed in 1710 and 1732 have been discovered. On the other hand, on the courtyard-facing wall of the rockface church frescos dating from the reign of Alexios III were once found. There, on either side of Alexios III stood his sons, Manuel III and Andronikos.

Etiketler: Alexios III, Andronikos, Manuel III

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 3:20 pm