Composition «The trial of Jesus Christ» as a Part of St. Nicholas Church Mural Paintings in Boboli Village

Abstract

A new example of the last quarter of the 19^th century monumental art in Kaluga region, namely, the oil wall paintings of St. Nicholas Church in Boboli village are introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time in this paper. An unusual composition «The trial of Jesus Christ» is notable among other mural subjects for its rare iconographic tradition. The examination of a separately taken subject in the context of the whole paintings programme helps one to study carefully the phenomenon of the rural art of that time. It reflected the various religious and cultural interests of a big economically well-developed village, in which the stylistic preferences in the age of eclecticism were further elaborated. Some wall painting features are combinations of typically metropolitan academic patterns and rural folk art devices. The composition of «The trial of Jesus Christ» became the brightest example of the regional paintings expressive language. The traditional motif of the contradiction between the Old and New Testaments are developed there in the most original, clear and detailed way as a part of the Passion and Christological painting cycles.