Justice of Peace Oana built the Monastery
of Humor at the beginning of the 15th century. The
ruins of the first church can be seen even today in
the center of the village, about 100 m south-west
of the present-day church. The monastery was re-built
in 1530 by Teodor Bubuiog. The church as it stands
today is dedicated to St. George and it is a structure
of great value, a masterpiece of Moldavian medieval
art. It is harmoniously balanced, without bell-towers
and designed in elongated trefoil plan with a crypt
and an open porch, the first of this kind in Moldavian
medieval architecture. Above the crypt is another
division, the treasure room, intended to hide the
monastery's treasures in case of danger. Although
it has no tower, the roof is tall, elegant, much prolonged
above the niches, with large, protecting eaves, characteristic
of the area near the mountains. The narthex has a
beautiful dome, which is supported on arches notable
for their skillful craftsmanship. The crypt is also
vaulted, separated from the nave by a wall pierced
by an open doorway. The inside and the facades are
entirely decorated with mural paintings dating from1535
and which make the fame of this monument. The façade
paintings impress by the rigorous distribution, by
the warm chromatic harmonies, and by the gracious
rhythm of the drawings. From an iconographic and typological
point of view, they are a step forward in the development
of the tradition of Moldavian painting, the central
theme being The Siege of Constantinople, an expression
of the anti-Turkish fighting. The southern wall comprises
a large composition achieved after the poem written
by patriarch Serghei of Constantinople and dedicated
to the Virgin Mary who saved the city from the Persians'
attacks in 626, The Hymn Prayer of Praise. The poem,
presented under the forms of embroidery, miniatures
and medieval frescoes, is made up of 24 scenes. The
historic scene of the Siege of Constantinople brings
to mind the medieval belief in the power of icons
to work miracles as well as in the people's will to
defeat the Turks. So great was the hatred towards
the enemy, that the hope of a miracle made the artists
in Humor and Moldovita paint a defeat of the Turks
instead of the recorded historical fact. Their author
seems to be Toma, master painter at the Court of Petru
Rares. The inside of the church, the decoration of
which was made by three master painters, draws the
attention by the exceptional quality of the paintings
of the narthex vault, by the cycle of the Passions
in the nave, as well as by the beautiful votive picture
of Petru Rares and his family, and by the votive pictures
of Chancellor Teodor and his wife, Anastasia. The
prince is depicted with a round face, short beard
and long hair, dressed in the exquisite attire of
the period, with a beautiful crown on his head. Next
to him is Princess Elena, clothed in garments of brocade,
and one of their sons. The portraits in both pictures
are of great value, as the artist strove to render
as faithfully as possible the figure of these historical
personalities, which he knew in person. An invaluable
iconostasis and icons from the 16th century can be
seen in the church even today. At Humor the colors
are brilliant, authentic, taken out of nature. Nothing
is artificial, everything comes from the soul. The
painting does not lack humor. Thus, one of the scenes
depicts the devil under the form of a sly, debauched
woman, an image that causes laughter. The frescoes
at Humor tell other parables from the Holy Gospels,
such as that of the Prodigal Son, with the scenes
of the feast, the party and a heated round dance with
five dancers that invite the guests to join them.
Vasile Lupu built the bell-tower in 1641. The site
was a monastery until 1786, when it was dissolved.
From 1960 to 1961 and from 1967 to 1970, a series
of restoration works were undertaken. The defense
tower was restored, and the Guards' Road, as well
as the outer roof was remade. The foundations of the
old church were also brought to light. In 1991 it
was re-opened as a convent for nuns, and near it a
range of cells was built for the nuns. The Monastery
of Humor played an important part in Romanian cultural
history. In the 15th century it contained a famous
workshop for miniature artists, painters and calligraphers,
where, among others, a beautiful book containing the
Four Gospels was made
The Humor Book of the Four Gospels
- The manuscript dates from 1473 and is a
masterpiece of the genre. Monk Nicodim copied it and
it contains the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, with 278 parchment leaves in folio written
in Slavonic. In this Book of the Four Gospels the
portrait of prince Stephen the Great is depicted,
a portrait that presents Stephen the Great in the
Italo-Byzantine attire of a lord crowned as a "tsar"
inheriting in his turn a majesty that had not vanished
with the millenary empire of eastern Christianity.
It is the oldest iconographic portrait of prince Stephen
the Great. Arranged in the same sequence as that of
the New Testament, that is Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, each gospel is preceded by the portrait of its
author, shown in miniature in full page, sitting or
writing or listening to the secret voice of the Holy
Ghost in an architectural décor which is more amply
or more summarily depicted. Their traits are full
of expression and very much individualized, concentrated
or inspired, in keeping with the moment that each
of them lives individually. Large and sumptuous framings,
decorated with geometrical and fitomorphic stylizations
surround the four scenes, whose gold backgrounds emphasize
their vivid colors of matchless freshness. Crowning
the brilliant tradition in miniature inaugurated by
Gavriil Uric at the Monastery of Neamt during the
reign of Alexander the Good, the Humor Book of the
Four Gospels owes its fame not only to its artistic
virtues, but also to the fact that, on the back of
leaf 266, is the famous votive portrait of Stephen
the Great, that seems to be the most truthful image
of the prince. The portrait depicts the prince in
the prime of his life. Stephen the Great has an energetic
round face, with piercing blue eyes, thick arched
eyebrows, a straight nose, a thick moustache, wavy
long blond hair and a dented high forehead. On his
head he wears an imposing crown set with five stylized
leaves and red and blue precious gems. He is dressed
in a large short cloak without sleeves, in the western
fashion, made in red brocade, embroidered with golden
yellow flowers. A rectangular framing decorated with
red and black floral stylizations surrounds the whole
composition. Given as a gift to the Monastery of Humor
in 1473, the Book of the Four Gospels was bound in
1487 in golden silver book covers decorated with figurative
bas-relief made in the technique au repousse.
