Posts in category: Οι Τοιχογραφίες στο παρεκκλησι του Αγιου Γεωργιου – Αγ. Παυλος

The style expressed by the painter is quite unique because, while he is clearly aware of the typical features of both the artistic trends of the time – i.e. the so-called Cretan school and the one known as the school of northwest Greece – he keeps an independent attitude. He uses selective elements of the two trends, and combines them with an emphasis on the lively contrast of light and shadow, which may be his personal hallmark, or it may be ascribed to a third trend. He has long been associated with the painter Antonios of the old cathedral of the Xenofontos monastery (in fact, E. Tsigaridas claims that it is the same person).

The frescoes were painted in the middle of the 16th century, probably in 1552, by a fine artist. However, the dedicatory inscription above the entrance was skilfully altered in the 18th century by the famous forger Simonides, and therefore the information it contains is of another type of interest.
Above the inscription, on the western wall in its usual position, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary creates a sense of monumentality, despite the small dimensions of the space and the surfaces. On the northern side of the western wall, the depiction of the embrace of the apostles Peter and Pavlos usually represents the affection between the western and eastern churches.

The chapel is a modest rectangular building with a barrel vault. The old cathedral, which was in close proximity to it before the extensive expansion of the complex in the 19th century, was probably similar. A full length, imposing depiction of the honoured martyr St Georgios animates the northern wall.

The narthex (or central nave) of the chapel is quite small; one enters from the south. The themes that decorate it are typical of this space. What makes these frescoes exceptional are the fine skills of the painter.

The chapel of St Georgios is located in the north wing, at approximately the site of the old cathedral. Prior to the 19th century, this wing constituted the whole Monastery. It is the oldest part of the complex that has been built on three large, prominent rocks.