Dear friends! We continue to acquaint you with the Artistic Heritage of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the paintings of the Lavra Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk, in particular the image of St. Forefather Enoch.

Sixteen medallions with Old Testament saints - prophets and forefathers - are depicted on the friso under the dome, which plays the role of a drum in the Refectory Church. All of them were created by Ivan Izhakevych in the early 20th century. A mysterious character is represented in the friso of the Forefather Enoch. His image is based on biblical legends. Revered by various peoples and religions, freed from death as a reward for piety, Enoch was taken to heaven alive. The Book of Enoch is one of the most popular Apocrypha of the Bible. The book tells us that the angels, descending to earth, married earthborn women and propagated sinners, so, God being in a rage with the people, punished the Earth with the Flood.

The image of Enoch is made in a decorative manner. Inspired by the Art Nouveau style Ivan Izhakevych applied such a technique as the interaction of arrhythmic lines, acute angles, the flow of zigzags. At first glance, the connection between these elements seems chaotic or accidental. But disordered combinations of decorative forms bring to the image of Enoch features of unusualness and mystical incomprehensibility. Holy Elder Enoch, as it may seem to the viewer, completely immersed himself in heavy and deep thoughts. This is evidenced by his cast-down eyes and tightly intertwined fingers. Meanwhile, the character's contact with the outside world is not interrupted. Clearly emphasizing the shape and size of Enoch's auricle, the artist seems to point to its extreme sharpness of perception. External "calm" - the physical immobility and deep concentration of the elder Enoch, which the viewer observes in the image, "exposes" the trembling tip of the beard. It seems to move from the invisible wind - timeless, out of place.

The text was prepared by Olena Pitateleva, the senior research worker

of the Research Division for the Study of Artistic Heritage

Picture captions

Fig. 1. Ivan Izhakevych. Forefather Enoch. The early 20th century. Paintings of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk Church.