Crkva Svetog Mihaila u Stonu, Црква Светог Михаила у Стону
End between 01.01.1050 and 31.12.1050
Properties
| ID | 117946 |
|---|---|
| System Class | Place |
| Place | Existing Church |
| Case Study | Beyond East and West: Sacred Landscapes Duklja and Raška |
| Dedication | Saint Archangel Michael |
| Evidence | Existing Monument |
| Ground Plans | Single Nave Basilica with a Dome |
| Stylistic Classification | Pre-Romanesque |
| Administrative unit | Croatia , Dubrovnik Neretva County |
Description
The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Ston was probably erected by Prince Stefan Vojislav, the archont of the Serbs and a Terbounian Serb (reigned ca. 1037-1050), in the first half of the 11th century. The church is situated on top of the hill named Gradac and it might have served as a palace church.
Its a rectangular, single-nave building, which is divided with composite pilasters into three bays (the middle one has a blind dome, while Eastern and Western have groin vaults) and a bell-tower situated on its Western side. The altar apse is semicircular inside and rectangular on the outside. The exterior is decorated with lesenes and niches, while door frames and stone window have low-relief decoration.
Fresco decoration has been severely damaged but we can still recognize its iconographical programme. Certainly the most significant is the fresco decoration of the ktetor who is holding a model of the church and along with Latin inscriptions we can conclude that the paintings are of Western pre-Romanesque and Byzantine influence finished probably around 1050 (for sure until 1081).
literature
Babić (Valentina) 2015 — 57-217 , Bošković 1980 — 141 , Goss 1987 — 121-122 , Jurković 1983 — 165-184. , Jurković 1985 — 183-199 , Jurković 1986 — 83-89 , Kalić 1979 — 32-48 , Karaman 1960 — 81-102 , Komatina 2016 — 65-68, 123-149. , Korać 2007 — 129-143 , Ljubinković 1963 — 181–205 , Maksimović 1971 — 28-29 , Marasović 1960a — 455-462 , Marasović 1960b — 33-47 , Marasović 1978 — 77 , Marasović 1984 — 151-152 , Marasović 1988 — 33-34 , Marasović 2013 — 29-39 , Marinković 2007 , Marković 2016a — 153-155, 161 , Srša 2010 — 11-30 , Stevović 1990 — 18-30 , Stevović 1996 — 175-195 , Tomas 2016a — 41-60 , Zdravković 1960 — 25-32 , Živković 2006 — 75-86Relations
Artifacts (2)
| Name | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ston, Church of Saint Archangel Michael, Frescoes | Artifact | The wall paintings have been partially preserved on the side walls and in the apse, while smaller fragments were discovered on the vault of the Eastern aisle. In the niche of the Western bay, there is a figure of a ruler with a crown and a model of the church (in Ston) in his hand. It is the most famous fresco which allowed the dating of the church (along with the inscription on the lintel). On the opposite, Southern side, is an image of Saint George, with a sword and a shield in his hand, next to which the inscription (GE)O(R)GIVS is to be found. Above the ruler, only the lower parts of two figures have been preserved, one in a ceremonial robe and the other unclothed and shackled in a humble position. Both are directed towards the West, so it is assumed that it is an image of a sinner and on the Western wall was a scene of the Last Judgment. Some scholars date the frescoes between 1051 and 1081, while others suggest an earlier date (the first half of the 11th century). In recent times, the frescoes have been associated with close examples of Ottonian book illumination and wall painting or Regensburg illuminations from the end of the 10th century (BamStbib, Msc. Lit. 142, f 4v). Nevertheless, the closest analogies are to be found in Byzantine painting of the first half and/or middle of the 11th century in the Southern Italian region of Apulia (such as in the Church of Santa Marina in Muro Leccese or in the crypt near Grottaglia, Gravina di Riggio). |
| Ston, Church of Saint Archangel Michael, Relief Decoration | Artifact | In the Church of Saint Archangel Michael in Ston several original pieces of architectural decoration and church furnishing, dated to the 11th century, have been preserved. All openings of the Early Medieval building, that have been preserved, indicate the pre-Romanesque bas-relief style of their frames and the Early Medieval frescoes in the interior, which harmonise the composition with the arrangement of the windows. The relief decoration was made in the pre-Romanesque style (some of the researchers like Jurković and Tomas recognise two chronological layers of the sculpture). The lintel, used in a secondary function as a tombstone, is decorated with three crosses, connected to each other by a two-bar braid. The upper field has an inscription, which has been interpreted and dated differently in historiography. B. Gabričević recognised the verse in the inscription as follows: (ARCHANGELUS) MICHAELUS FORTITER SUPER SECO PACIFICOQUE OMNES ROMANOS Among the fragments of liturgical furniture the remains of the altar screen and ciborium can be recognised. |