New Data about the earliest Icons by the Iconographers Nikola Vasilev and Vasil Hristov Bedelev from Shumen

Authors:

Pages: 36-44

Abstract:

History of the Bulgarian art during the National Revival Period has recorded the names of only two local iconographers from Shumen – Nikola Vasilev and Vasil Hristov Bedelev. Biographical data about them are not rich and their artistic work has never been systematically researched. However, over the past two years, it became clear that there are a large number of unexplored and unpublished icons made by both painters, and some of them are earlier than all previously known. This fact sets a new chronological framework of the work of Vasilev and Bedelev and gives a new direction for the study of its spread and scale. In addition, in 2015 was discovered the very first signed icon by a third iconographer from Shumen region, remained unknown until now – David Georgiev from Marash. He worked at the same time and in the same temples where Vasilev and Bedelev operated. All these novel data, together with the large number of still unexplored icons and wall paintings of the three Shumen iconographers, create a need for a thorough survey of their work, whose first task is to explore the earliest extant patterns. Therefore, the foci of present research lays on the icons by the iconographers from Shumen painted in 1857–1858 for the Dormition Church in Targovishte.

Keywords:

Bulgarian Revival Period, Bulgarian Iconography, Shumen, Nikola Vassilev, Vassil Hr. Bedelev, David Georgiev, Shumen Iconographers, Dormition Church, Targovishte.

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