Една балканска иновация в декоративната украса на храмовете, иконите и стенописите от ХVІІ – ХVІІІ век
A Balkan Innovation in the Decoration of the Icons and Murals in Churches of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

Summary/Abstract: The explorations in this paper were induced by icons, dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth century and originating from Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and Greece, the decoration of which suggests common Balkan trends, inspired by Western influences related to the European Baroque, but also to the medieval Byzantine tradition. These are usually representations of saints against richly ornamented sculptured golden backgrounds. The paper features examples of these icons helping to devise my not that ingenious idea of an uninterrupted relation of the Orthodox icon-painters, who have left over time invaluable heritage in Balkan Christian churches as a result of an extensive programme of a kind carried out with verve in the churches within the specified territory. Apart from the icons presented herein, a number of Balkan murals will be broached, where the decoration of the backgrounds of the icons has been transferred onto the wall paintings of many churches. The main aspect of the study is a comparative characteristic of Bulgarian cultural heritage.

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