РЕЛИГИОЗНАТА ЖИВОПИС И ИКОНОПИС В СРЕДНОВЕКОВНА БЪЛГАРИЯ (XIII - XVв.)
Информация
Автор: Димитър Димитров Шуменски университет „Епископ Константин Преславски” специалност Археология ОКС магистър
Научен ръководител: проф. д.и.н. Стела Дончева
Рецензент: доц. д-р Константин Константинов
Шуменски университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“ Катедра История и археология 2026 ============================= Abstract: This study examines the concept of apophatic visuality in Bulgarian religious painting and iconography during the period of the Second Bulgarian Empire (thirteenth–fifteenth centuries). The research explores the relationship between theological thought, artistic representation, and spiritual experience within the Orthodox Christian tradition. Particular attention is devoted to the influence of Byzantine artistic models and the development of distinctive Bulgarian iconographic practices, especially within the cultural milieu of the Tarnovo Artistic School. The article argues that medieval Bulgarian religious imagery functioned not merely as a visual representation of sacred figures but as a theological medium through which the transcendent and ineffable nature of the divine could be contemplated. Drawing upon the principles of apophatic theology, the study analyzes how iconographic conventions, symbolic forms, compositional structures, and the treatment of light contributed to the expression of realities that surpass sensory perception and rational understanding.Special emphasis is placed on the connection between Hesychasm and artistic production in late medieval Bulgaria.The spread of Hesychast spirituality encouraged a visual language characterized by contemplative stillness, spiritual luminosity, and the transformation of material forms into vehicles of divine presence. Through selected examples of monumental painting, mural decoration, and iconography, the article demonstrates how Bulgarian artists adapted inherited Byzantine models while developing distinctive aesthetic solutions that reflected local theological and cultural traditions. The findings reveal that apophatic visuality constitutes a fundamental interpretative framework for understanding Bulgarian medieval religious art. Rather than aiming at naturalistic representation, these works sought to direct the viewer beyond the visible image toward mystical participation in divine reality. Consequently, Bulgarian religious painting and iconography of the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries emerge as significant expressions of Orthodox spirituality and as enduring testimonies to the synthesis of theology, art, and cultural identity.
Keywords: apophatic visuality, Bulgarian medieval art, iconography, religious painting, Hesychasm, Orthodox theology, Tarnovo Artistic School, Byzantine tradition.
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