The Frescoes of Marko’s Monastery

The Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA), in cooperation with the Archbishopric of Ohrid and the Metropolitanate of Skopje, has published a new book in its special editions series: The Frescoes of Marko’s Monastery (Markov manastir) by Marka Tomić Đurić, PhD and research associate at the Institute for Balkan Studies of the SASA. The monograph deals with one the most thematically elaborate, conceptually complex and artistically relevant ensembles in Serbian fresco painting of the second half of the 14^th century, commissioned by ktetors King Vukašin Mrnjavčević of Serbia (1365–1371) and his son Marko (1371–1395). The frescoes in the Church of St. Demetrios (1376/1377) are characterized by a blend of traditional and completely original themes, iconographical patterns and programmatic concepts based on theological teachings woven into liturgical texts, particularly religious poetry. Richly illustrated and featuring an abundance of visual material, the monograph represents a rounded research project which employs modern methodology to assess and interpret questions pertaining to the frescoes of the Church of St. Demetrios in Sušica. The structure of the book was largely shaped by the multi-layered iconography of wall paintings in the Palaiologan period and the consistent implementation of methodological principles which are rooted in field research and the detailed study of written sources on one hand, and on the other hand the author’s comprehensive insight into relevant academic literature and the current problems in worldwide Byzantine studies. The book offers a plethora of innovations and significantly expands our knowledge not only of the frescoes in the katholikon of Marko’s Monastery but also of the artistic phenomena and visual reflections of rulers’ ideologies, liturgy and theological ideas in Eastern Christian art of the late medieval period.