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)