Exhibition "Murals of the Kazan Church of Kaluga"

July 20 at 12:00 in the exhibition hall of the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (Lenin St. 103, 2nd floor) will open the exhibition "Murals of the Kazan Church of Kaluga" (first half of the XVIII - early XIX centuries.)

Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord ("Kazan Icon of the Mother of God") 1709-1717 in Kaluga has its own special history. The preserved stone church of the beginning of the 18th century stands on a historical site near the ferry crossing the Oka River on the ancient Moscow-Kiev important highway. The history of the creation of the temple reflects the initial period of the reign of Emperor Peter I.

The volume of the Kaluga Transfiguration Church at the beginning of the 18th century is a pillarless quadrangle with a four-channel vaulted ceiling, crowned with five chapters, with a single altar apse. The whole appearance of this quadruple recalls the ancient Russian architecture of the late XVII century. Until now, a unique mural of the 1st half of the 18th century of the construction period of the quadrangle has been preserved. Its arches are untouched by any restoration and have a special solemn majesty and the power of impression. The painting, located on the slopes of the chute vault and in the altar of the temple, was performed by Russian icon-painters of the early 18th century, followers of the work of the isographers of the Armory. The painting combines the hidden holiness of Russian icon painting and compositional solutions, taken from the Pyskator’s Personal Bible, which was popular among the painters of Western Europe and Russia at that time, published in Holland.

The mural ensemble of the church’s quadruple includes a Christological cycle, each composition of which is united by a common Christian theme of the Savior.

The mural of the refectory of the church from the middle to the second half of the 19th century is traditional for this time and belongs to the style of historicism, which combines elements of the Byzantine style and murals of Russian churches of the 17th century. The oil painting is partially whitewashed and partially lost, but the remaining part is very impressive. In the refectory, almost 50 percent of the former painting was preserved. In the northern vault of the refectory there is a large composition glorifying the Virgin with the baby Jesus in his arms and at the same time showing the impending earthly death of Christ on the cross. In the southern vault of the refectory, the composition “Trinity” is executed in an unusual decision, where all the forms - God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are written sequentially vertically. Also in the refectory is the composition “Flight to Egypt”, where the Virgin Mary with a baby in her arms sits on a donkey led by St. Joseph. In the refectory painting there is an image of the New Testament Trinity, which traditionally includes the figure of the forthcoming Virgin, the figure of the Baptist and Forerunner of John is lost. Remarkable composition "Selected Saints", which depicts St. Prince Vladimir, St. Prince Boris, St. Barsanuphius, St. Athanasius the Great, St. Jacob is the brother of the Lord. In the refectory, numerous ornamental compositions are preserved, some of which are made in the Neo-Russian style.

Since the 2nd half of the 17th century, all Russian icon painters — tsarist, fodder, urban, who worked in Moscow, created the capital’s all-Russian style, and the painting of the Preobrazhensky Kaluga Church was executed in this style.

Currently, the main tasks in preserving the wall painting of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord are research works, which include: laboratory, full-scale, photographic, visual studies of the mural, the results of which will make it possible to begin fully practical work in order to stabilize and extend the life of a unique mural in the interiors of the temple.

All funds raised will go to the conservation of monumental painting!

The exhibition runs from July 20 to August 3, 2016 at the address: Kaluga, ul. Lenin, 103 (2nd floor).

Opening hours from 10.00 to 18.00, Saturday from 11.00 to 19.00, Monday - day off.