Fresco painting
The entire interior of the Church of Annunciation is adorned by fresco painting. Although some of the frescoes were seriously damaged over time, the preserved part of fresco painting testifies about the erudition of the ktetor and of the competent spiritual and worldly authorities, as well as of the skills of the painters.
Unfortunately, the names of the painters who adorned the White Church of Karan are not known, but it is certain that they were fully aware of the modern cultural and artistic tendencies, and that they keenly observed certain novelties regarding iconography in general, conceptual organisation of frescoes, and style in general. This moderately sized church is adorned by a very rich painting programme, with some rather rare iconographic solutions. Three zones of walls and two zones of dome drum contain figures, busts and medallions with the representations of the most important Christian saints: the Most Holy Mother of God with Christ, Saint John the Forerunner, Saint Nicholas, Church forefathers, Saints Cosmas and Damian the Holy Unmercenaries, warriors (Theodor Tyron, Theodor Stratelates, George and Demetrios, Mercurius), prophets (Nahum, Daniel, Isaac, Abraham, Anastasios, Marcian etc.), apostles (Peter and Paul, Luke, Mark, John and Matthew in pendentives), archdeacons (Stephen, Romanus), martyrs (Isidore, Orestes, Mardarius etc.), evangelists, hierarchs, holy Serbs, ktetors, scenes from the lives of Christ, Mother of God, forefather Abraham and Divine Liturgy.
Out of the scenes of Great Feasts there are: Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ, Resurrection of Lazarus, Crucifixion of Jesus, Resurrection (Jesus’ Descent into Hades), Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.
On the south wall, right to the main entrance into the church, behind the figures of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher (the western side of the south pilaster) and St. Sava there are King Milutin and young Stefan Dušan pictured. As Dušan looks young, surely under 30 years of age, it could be supposed that the White Church of Karan was erected and fresco painted between 1332 and 1346, when he proclaimed himself the Emperor, most likely after 1332 and before 1338. Behind Dušan is the representation of the main ktetor of the church, Prefect Petar Brajan, his wife Struja and four daughters – three adult ones and one girl, painted right next to their mother.
On the western wall, opposite to the Mother of God with Three Hands, there is the fresco painting of Queen Jelena, and next to her the standing figure of Saint Marina (St. Margaret of Antioch), who beats a devil with a hammer. This unique representation of St. Marina in iconography is for the first time painted in Serbian art right there – in the White Church of Karan and that, along with the representation of St. Clement of Ohrid in the fresco painting of the White Church of Karan, also testifies about strong cultural connections between Raška and southern parts of Dušan’s state, which were flourishing at the time.
An extraordinary example of a ktetor representation of an elderly nun on her knees, immersed in prayer, next to the legs of the Most Holy Mother of God with Three Hands, is a testimony about painter’s detailed knowledge of the then iconographic trend – proskynesis. This type of deeply meaningful praying enters the fresco painting at the period of reign of the Palaiologos family. Specific features of this portrait and the simplicity of its expression make it authentic. The fact that the church contains an extensive cycle picturing the life of the Most Holy Mother of God, and a condensed cycle dedicated to the Old Testament prophet Abraham and the passions of the Holy Martyrs of Sebaste shows that the painters of the White Church of Karan strived to reach very high artistic levels of the so-called “Palaiologan Renaissance“.
There were probably two painters working on the fresco painting of the church. It is certain that the painters of Karan church looked up to some iconographic solutions from the nearby Church of St. Achillius – the Cathedral of the Diocese of Moravica. For example, the line of hierarchs in the altar space, amongst who there is St. Achillius, then the scene of Abraham’s Sacrifice etc. As for the positioning of the Great Feasts in the drum of the church dome, the painters could have looked up to the solution from the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, near Ras. The White Church also has certain archaic painting solutions which were characteristic for the programme of the churches of Ras in XIII century, like the scene of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste etc. There is no doubt that the painters knew the fresco painting of King’s Church, King Milutin’s endowment in Studenica, the master piece of the Palaiologan Renaissance. All of this leads to the conclusion that the painters of the White Church of Karan were formed as artists in the hinterland of Thessaloniki, and/or in Macedonia. They are, to a certain extent, similar to the authors of fresco painting in Dobrun and Palež. The appearance of older solutions characteristic for the Raška region was most likely the product of the influence of the clergy and the Bishop of Moravica whose seat was at the nearby Church of St. Achillius in Arilje.
Virtual tour of the Blago Fund, is available here: https://www.blagofund.org/