It is mentioned as "the new monastery"
in 1410. The first building of the monastery, which
had a church in trefoil plan, collapsed as a result
of land sliding. In 1532 Petru Rares re-built the
church of the Annunciation on a different site, surrounding
it by a quadric-lateral enclosure fortified by walls
and towers. The church, one of the most exquisite
Romanian ecclesiastic art monuments, is of elongated
trefoil plan, with a crypt and an open porch supported
by massive brick pillars. The nave is crowned by a
bell-tower supported in the traditional Moldavian
system of arches supported by load-bearing arches.
The church is built in stone-cut rock slabs and brick
at the niches, with the main elements similar to those
at Pobrata and Humor, but also with valuable characteristics
of its own. These characteristics consist in the originality
and harmony of joining together the old tradition
and the new concept: the larger dimensions, the tendency
of suppleness, elegance, grandeur. Other characteristics
are the open porch, which is more complicated, more
adorned with new architectural forms, the larger dimensions
of the nave, the crypt, and the treasure room than
they are at Humor, as well as the adornment of the
altar with small niches. Both the outside and the
inside of the church were covered with mural paintings
made in 1537 by a group of painters led probably by
Toma of Suceava. Except for the northern façade, these
paintings are remarkably well preserved and they impress
by their monumentality, by the forceful expressive
drawings and by the warm harmonious colors, as well
as by the clarity of the iconographic program, the
tendency of humanizing the figures of the saints and
presenting them dynamically, in motion, with a great
degree of warmth and sensitivity. At the same time
the paintings impress by the combination and original
distribution of the green and the blue, which seem
to come directly from the brilliant green of the grass
and the serene blue of the sky. From the rich range
of the themes of the paintings there are certain scenes
that draw the attention by their conception as well
as by their artistic and documentary value. Such a
scene is that depicting the family of Prince Petru
Rares with Princess Elena and their sons, Ilias and
Stefan in the votive picture. On the southern façade,
the representation of the Siege of Constantinople
is the materialization of the idea of the anti-Ottoman
fighting which is a familiar theme of Moldavian iconography.
This historical event is so vivid in the people's
consciousness that, even 500 years later, it still
continues to move the spirit. The Moldavian artists
offer a panoramic view of Constantinople, a city strewn
with towers, teeming with people. In 1612 Bishop Ephrem
reconstructed the fortified enclosure and inside it
he erected a baptistery, which was later restored
between 1955 and 1957. It is one of the few medieval
residences of the 16th and 17th centuries and was
used as the Bishop's residence. What increases even
more the importance of the ecclesiastic architectonic
complex of Moldovita is its rich patrimony of valuable
objects, which are still preserved here. Thus, there
are innumerable wooden objects sculpted with unsurpassed
artistic skill and especially the wooden coronation
chair of Petru Rares, characteristic of the epoch,
testament to the outstanding artistic gifts of the
anonymous masters of the 16th century. Bishop Ephrem
also built the Gate Tower with its sculpted decorations
inspired from those at Dragomirna. The monastery still
has the sculpted polychrome furniture, which dates
from the 16th century, inspired by the folk art of
the peasants' ornamental technique. Irrespective of
the place from where you look at the monastery, it
does not seem to have been built by man, but emerged
directly from the ground, from the bosom of the surrounding
generous nature, from the springs of Moldavian folk
art. Here in the museum of the monastery one can find
the Golden Apple - an international award offered
by the International Federation of Journalists and
Writers in Tourism which was given to the province
of Bucovina in 1975 as an acknowledgement of the efforts
of the Romanian state to integrate these unique historical
ecclesiastic monuments in the national and international
tourist circuit.
The Siege of Constantinople
- is an iconographic theme characteristic of Moldavian
exterior painting during the reign of Petru Rares.
It illustrates the first stanza proemium of the Hymn
Prayer of Praise. Using the analogical image of the
saving of the city of Constantinople, laid under siege
by the Persians in 626, through the divine intervention
of the Virgin Mary, the scene has a profound militant
message, as it is a symbol of the anti-Ottoman fighting
of Moldavia at that time. The same subject appears
in the monasteries and churches in Humor, St. George
in Suceava and Arbore.
The Hymn of Praise - is
a hymn of praising and thanks, dedicated to the Holy
Trinity, the cross and various saints that are sung
standing. The best known is the Hymn of the Annunciation,
based on a text attributed to Roman Melodul in the
16th century, and completed by bishop Serghei in 626,
during the Persian siege of Constantinople. It is
inspired by the life of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus
(the 12 "historical" stanzas), and by a series of
attributes with which they are invested (the 12 "mystical"
stanzas). It was first illustrated in miniature in
the 11th century and then in Byzantine mural painting.
In the Romanian provinces, it first appeared in the
narthex of the large church of the Monastery of Cozia
in about 1390. In 16th century Moldavia, it can be
found in the exterior mural painting, finally comprising
the scene of the Siege of Constantinople, and thus
becoming part of the vast educational theological
program of prayer for the defense of the country against
the Turkish danger.
The Funeral Veil of the Holy Virgin
- is an iconographic theme of intersection originating
in the attribute of palladium given to the city of
Constantinople held by the maforion of the Holy Virgin.
The Holy Virgin, holding or not Baby Jesus in her
arms, protects, under her maforion, which is drawn
aside or supported by angels various categories of
believers. In Romanian painting valuable representations
have been preserved in the mural art in the times
of Brancoveanu, at the Monastery of Hurez and at the
Monastery of Pologravi.
The Dedication Icon corresponds
to the iconographic type of the protective Holy Virgin
in Gothic art, the art of the Renaissance and baroque
art.
