BULGARIAN CHURCH WOODCARVING 14th-19th CENTURY

ISBN 9546420824
Author: Valentin ANGELOV. Professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia.
Printed in: Sofia 2000
Pages: 150 p. , hard cover, size 17 x 24 cm
Language: Text in English
Photos: 66 plates with b&w photos

The book presents in general the development of the Bulgarian Church woodcarving from the earliest preserved models until the end of the 19th century. The presentation follows the main routes of development of this original art, with emphasis laid upon the symbolism of the included patterns. During the Revival period this symbolism is a synthesis between Christian and Pre-Christian patterns, preserved in the folklore thinking. The book describes the Revival period not only as a period of progress but also as a period full of recesses and returns kept up by the folklore. The book is intended mainly for ethnographers, folklorists, art historians and for all those fascinated by the magic of woodcarving.

Contents: The Iconostasis*
Chapter One: Monumental Woodcarving in Medieval Bulgaria; The Rila Gate; The Art of Woodcarving from the 15th to the Beginning of the 18th Century; Semantic Characteristics of the Bulgarian Late Medieval Iconostasis; The Spiritual and Aesthetic Impact of the Late Medieval Iconostasis*
Chapter Two: Woodcarving During the Bulgarian National Revival Period; Woodcarving Schools; The Tryavna School of Woodcarving; The Debur School of Woodcarving; The Samokov School of Woodcarving; Woodcarving Groups; Wood-carvers from the Village of Metsovo; Wood-carvers from Vratsa and its Environs; Wood-carvers from the Village of Novo Selo near Sevlievo; Monumental Woodcarving by Rila Monks; The Kalofer Group of Wood-carvers*
Chapter Three: The Mystery of Revival Period Church Woodcarving - a Tangle of Contradictory Tendencies; An Echo from Ancient Mythological Ideas; From Mythology to Folklore; Reminiscences from the Medieval Physiologus; The Great Influence of Patriarchal Rituals* Conclusion