Kintsvisi Monastery (, ) is a

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in the

Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , S ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, 10 kilometers from the town Kareli, on a forested slope of a high mountain of the Dzama valley. Its main church is an exceptional example of a brick church from the

Georgian Golden Age The Georgian Golden Age ( ka, საქართველოს ოქროს ხანა, tr) describes a historical period in the High Middle Ages, spanning from roughly the late 11th to 13th centuries, during which the Kingdom of Georgia reac ...

period. The monumental mural is one of the largest among the Medieval Georgian artistic ensembles.

History

The Kintsvisi Monastery complex consists of three churches, of uncertain origin. The central (main) central church dedicated to St Nicholas is thought to date to the early 13th century, in what is generally regarded as the

. Its dating was possible due to the presence on the murals of the figures of three Georgian kings of that period. A very small chapel standing next to it is dedicated to St George, and dates from around the same time. The oldest church, dedicated to St Mary dates from the 10-11th centuries, but is mostly in ruins. In the 15th century the main church

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

was rebuilt by the local prince Zaza Panaskerteli. Its internal space was divided into three parts and decorated by

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

. Among them also the unique depiction of Zaza himself. The site is currently listed by the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

as a field project.

Architecture

The main church is a large inscribed-cross domed brick building which houses unique examples of medieval

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

art from the early 13th century. Made of red brick, the church is harmoniously fit into the surrounding mountainous, forested landscape. This building material was not commonly used for construction in that period, representing exceptional case for the beginning of the 13th century. The dome was also originally covered in three-colored

roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof ...

. Its

tholobate In architecture, a tholobate (from el, θολοβάτης, tholobates, dome pedestal) or drum is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. In the earlier Byzanti ...

has 12 windows. Though the internal space is cross-shaped, the church is rectangular in general plan. The only altar is flanked by a prothesis and a sacristy. High semicircular arches connect the lateral naves with the western arm. The

has two floors, with the lower floor being the portal and the lower the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. The portal has been later divided into three parts. The church facades originally lack any decorations. They are present only in form of window arches on the dome

, also made of special bricks. Except for the main church the monastery territory contains other buildings of different age and preservation, surrounded by the ruins of the common wall. Among the ruins, the bell tower, included into the northern wall, and two

hall churches In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the grea ...

can be recognized. The smaller St. George's Church, standing close to the western facade, is in rather good condition. From the larger St. Mary's Church, standing in the north-west part of the area, only the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

with frescoes remains.

Murals

The interior is well-illuminated from the windows in the

and in each arm of the cross. Original frescoes entirely covered the walls. In spite of being damaged, Kintsvisi murals are still among the largest and well-preserved Georgian Medieval wall paintings. In the central position of the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

is the

Hodegetria A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of s ...

flanked by the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

s Michael and

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

. At the central part of cupola arch is an expressed cross as a medallion. Medallions with the Four Evangelists adorn the

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s. Images of archangels are repeated on south and west walls of the church. Scenes from the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

are presented on north walls, as are portraits of Georgian kings, Giorgi III, Tamar and Giorgi IV Lasha. Particularly remarkable is the figure of a sitting angel (the so-called “Kintsvisi Archangel”) from the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

composition pointing at the open sarcophagus in a gracious manner, represented above the kings' figures, between two windows. The expressive bending of the head, the wing movement, soft drawing of the angel's shoulders are accompanied by the fine linear decorations of the blue clothes on blue background. The eastern side contains the figure of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

with

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

in hands in the conch, the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

in the bema and the church fathers, walking from to the bema from two sides, depicted in a three quarter turn on the

wall. All the figures are expressive and dynamic. These murals date to before 1205 and rank, due to the lavish use of

lapis-lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...

to color their backgrounds, among the most beautiful paintings of that period. These murals were ordered by Anton Gnolistavisdze, a local feudal magnate who served as a royal minister. His fresco with a model of a church in his hand is represented on the lower register of the south wall, along with a severely damaged cycle of images from the life of St Nicholas, and depictions of various Georgian saints. The murals of the

are of a later date, and were painted by the order of a prominent person of the 15th century, Zaza Panaskerteli, whose portrait is represented here as well. The church of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

also contains an enthroned

with a Communion of the Apostles in its ruined

. The walls of this church were presumably entirely painted in the same manner as the main church, but everything but the apse has collapsed into ruins down the side of the mountain.

References

*Abashidze, Irakli. Ed. ''Georgian Encyclopedia. Vol. IX.'' Tbilisi, Georgia: 1985. *Amiranashvili, Shalva. ''History of Georgian Art.'' Khelovneba: Tbilisi, Georgia: 1961. *Rosen, Roger. ''Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus.'' Odyssey Publications: Hong Kong, 1999. *Закарая, П. Памятники Восточной Грузии. Искусство, Москва: 1983, 376 с. akaraya, P. Monuments of Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian)

External links

Kintsvisi MonasteryMax Planck Institute
{{Georgian Churches Georgian Orthodox monasteries