The Kapnikarea church


Kapnikarea is a church dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, located in Ermou Street, in the historic centre of Athens. The name it now goes by may point to the donator’s professional status as a tax collector (kapnikaris). It was previously known as Kamoucharea, from the Byzantine word for gold weave cloth (kamoucha), probably because it lay near workshops where the cloth was made. Under Ottoman rule it was known as the Princess’ Church or Prentzas’ Church. In 1834 it was at risk of demolition during efforts to re-plan and smarten up the capital of the newly established Greek state, but was saved at the last moment on the intervention of Ludwig of Bavaria, King Otto of Greece’s father. The church now belongs to the University of Athens.

No historical accounts or inscriptions tell us when the church was founded, but three construction phases are visible: building work on the main body of the church has been assigned to the third quarter of the 11th century. In typological terms it is a composite four-column cross-in-square church. A tripartite sanctuary with semicircular niches adjoins the central space, forming three-sided apses on the outside.  The middle apse corresponding to the chancel is larger and taller than the other two and has a triple-light window. An Athenian-type dome rises above the centre of the church, with arched marble cornices, projecting gutters and single-light windows with small columns bearing heart-shaped foliage decoration.  The four columns and capitals supporting the dome derive from earlier monuments (spolia).

An open gallery was subsequently added to the western face of the building, possibly in the early 12th century. This was later closed and converted into an exonarthex, which now has single and double-light windows with brick horseshoe arches below four saddle-back roofs. Two early Byzantine capitals with monogrammed bosses were incorporated into the facade. The small two-column propylon on the south side is of the same period.

 Finally, a single-nave chapel dedicated to Saint Barbara was added to the north side of the church, roofed over with a smaller version of the main dome. The chapel has been assigned to the Frankish or Ottoman period, though some sections of the east wall are earlier, possibly contemporary with the original church, meaning that it may have been erected on the site of another structure that served as an extension of the main building.

Cloisonné masonry was employed for the walls, with white blocks of stone laid to form crosses in the lower part of the building. The exterior decoration is relatively Spartan, involving the limited use of kufic ornaments, dogtooth bands and horseshoe arches around the windows.

The frescos in the chancel and dome owe their existence to Fotis Kontoglou, whose students painted the greater part of the remaining surfaces. The mosaic of the Virgin Mary in the propylon is the work of Elli Voila, to a design by Athinagoras Asteriadis.

 


Glossary (17)

donator (ktetor): person, usually a member of the aristocracy or official, who provided financial support for carrying out a project.
cross-in-square church: type of church where the central dome is supported by four arches covering the extremities of an equilateral cross. Lateral compartments, covered with small domes or barrel vaults, are formed at the four corners of the cross and thus the church forms a cross inscribed in a square or rectangular area. Externally the sign of the cross is also prominent because of this unique way of covering the roof.
bema (chancel or sanctuary): eastern part of the church forming an apse. Usually elevated in relation to the floor of the nave by one to three steps. The term derives from the verb "βαίνω (go)" and is also known as the sanctuary.
conch (Sanctuary niche): Niche in the eastern end of a basilica. Semicircular on the inside, with a horseshoe shaped, rectangular or polygonal exterior.
triple-light window: window with three openings that form an arc at the top.
dome: hemispherical vault resting on a cylindrical or polygonal drum. Widely used in Christian church architecture.
single-lobed or single-light window: window with a single opening that forms an arc at the top.
column: cylindrical, vertical support. Their use started in antiquity and was subsequently adopted by Byzantine churches. Columns from ancient temples were often incorporated into Christian churches. Byzantine examples are usually marble, monolithic and unfluted.
capital: uppermost part of a column acting as support for the architrave, usually decorated. The three basic types of capitals are the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian. In Byzantine times they were adorned with carvings and used in churches, being mostly variations of the Corinthian type.
spolia: architectural materials from earlier monuments that are reused as building materials in a later period.
exonarthex or outer narthex: external gallery in the western part of a church, between the narthex and the atrium.
propylon: the monumental entrance to sacred enclosures or imperial palaces.
chapel: small sized church, either independent, belonging to a religious foundation, or part of a larger church. In Byzantium chapels were often used for burials.
cloisonne masonry: elaborate church masonry style, in which rectangular stones are framed by one or two plinths (bricks) laid horizontally and vertically in single or double rows within the mortar of joints.
kufic ornaments: Decorative motifs, mimicking the first Arabic script to appear in the 7th century in Kufa, Mesopotamia. Usually employed on the external surfaces of churches, rendered in small immured clay tablets.
dogtooth, dentil, saw-tooth or course: ceramic decorative elements that can be oblong or meet along the crowning of the roof, like frames surrounding windows. Can be single or double.
wall paintings or murals: Painted scenes on a wall or ceiling surface.


Information Texts (1)

Kontoglou Fotis : Painter and writer, regarded as one of the leading intellectuals in Modern Greek times. Kontoglou studied painting at the School of Fine Arts in Athens and Paris. He devoted particular attention to Byzantine art, studying on Mount Athos and working as a painter and conservator of Byzantine icons. His style is based on Byzantine tradition, which he enriched with knowledge of anatomy and the plastic depiction of figures. Throughout his literary and painting career he insisted on returning to forgotten Byzantine heritage.


Bibliography (8)

1. Αλιβιζάτος K., Ο πανεπιστημιακός ναός της Καπνικαρέας, 1937-1938

2. Mango, C., Byzantine architecture, New York, 1976

3. Megaw A.H.S., The Chronology of some Middle-Byzantine Churches, 1931-32

4. Μπούρας Χαράλαμπος, Βυζαντινή και Μεταβυζαντινή Αρχιτεκτονική στην Ελλάδα, 2001

5. Μπούρα Λ., Μπούρας Χαράλαμπος, Η ελλαδική ναοδομία κατά τον 12ο αιώνα, Εμπορική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος, Athens, 2002

6. Μπούρας Χαράλαμπος, Βυζαντινή Αθήνα, 10ος-12ος αι, Μουσείο Μπενάκη, Athens, 2010

7. Ζίας Ν., Φώτης Κόντογλου, ζωγράφος, Εμπορική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος, Athens, 1991

8. Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Τουρισμού | Καπνικαρέα, http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/gh251.jsp?obj_id=833


Comments (0)