Classical elements in the endowments of Serbian XIII century donors

In Byzantine painting, starting from the XIII and particularly during the XIV century, there was a visible return to models from the period of Antiquity. The influences of ancient, ostensibly, Hellenistic heritage were reflected in the shapes, in the content of the compositions, as well as in the drawing, modellation and colours. In the art that came into being in the course of the XIII century, in the endowments of the Serbian donors numerous elements emerged that had existed in ancient art. In the frescoes in the Church of the Mother of God in Studenica, the endowment of Stefan Nemanja and his sons, we see personifications, symbols, the introduction of details, and space acquiring depth, features that were later to come to full expression, especially from the middle of the XIII century. The few preserved frescoes dating from the XIII century in the Church of the Resurrection in the i a monastery, the endowment of Stefan the First Crowned, his son Radoslav and his brother Sava, are an iconographic continuation of the trends in the art one encounters in Studenica. The frescoes in the Church of Christ's Ascension in Mile eva, the endowment of King Vladislav, with their subtly fashioned figures and carefully modelled faces, as well as refined colouring, signal a return to the Hellenistic models. The painting in the Church of Dormition of the Virgin in the Mora a monastery, the endowment of Prince Stefan, nephew of king Stefan, with its well-proportioned, firmly modelled figures, landscapes and architecture deepening the space, reminds one of the Sopo ani frescoes. In the fresco painting of the Holy Apostles in Pe , the endowment of Archbishop Sava which owed its outcome to the efforts of Archbishop Arsenije I, the images are very vivid, and the painted architecture is depicted in an abbreviated form, using different kinds of perspective. The painting in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Sopo ani, the endowment of king Uro I, represents an ensemble of new artistic trends that appeared during the first half of the XIII century. Its spacious and monumental compositions present solutions that give the figures a quality of flexibility and breadth to their movements, while their faces resemble those of Antiquity. The space is indicated by architecture painted in an abbreviated manner, the iconostasis and icons are framed in an ornament of stucco bearing antique motifs, some scenes contain personifications, while the rich and harmonious colours and gold in the background emphasise the Hellenistic spirit. The frescoes in the Church of the Annunciation in the Gra