St Nicholas church Rhodes

a tiny byzantine church on the slopes of Mt Profitis Ilias, Rhodes

ART SUNDAY; THE UNEXPECTED

ART SUNDAY; THE UNEXPECTED

This is in every way unexpected. I am quite sure anyone who has visited these pages before will come here expecting something from Scotland, well not so, not today. Today is a celebration of the unexpected and I am most defiantly out of my comfort zone, away from Scotland and presenting the unexpected.

This is a very small, little know church in Rhodes which sits on the slopes of Mt Profitis Illias and is called Church of Agios Nikolas Fountouki (St Nicholas of the Hazelnuts). It is a Byzantine Church built in late 14C/ early 15C and has the most incredible, intact Byzantine wall frescos decorating its entire interior. I found this little church a couple of years ago while on holiday in Rhodes. Every thing about it is unexpected; from the way it appears as if out of no where, while travelling along one of the dusty rural roads, to the wonderful interior art work that comes as such a shock when you enter.  I have scoured the internet to find information to share with you about this little church and could find virtually nothing. I can’t even tell you which method of fresco painting was used. I don’t know the exact date and I have no idea who the artist was.  Finding it in the middle of no where was unexpected, discovering the frescoes inside was unexpected, in fact discovering it was unlocked and open to visitors with no security was unexpected. Going on to discover that this little open, unprotected church, in the middle of no where was not vandalised, not covered in graffiti and even had a full plate of donations inside the door was ultimately unexpected. Can you imagine what state this would be in if it were left open, unprotected and in the middle of no where in the UK?

The next unexpected thing about this is the fact I have edited some of my photographs. I very rarely edit photos but this time I had to in order to show you the frescos. They were taken with my old camera and it was very dark inside the church so the original un-edited versions of the pictures were too dark to see very much.  Also the picture that shows the alter area is not mine; I found it in someone else’s flickr account, so thank you who ever you are. I know these photos are not that good and it is really difficult to see from this how truly stunning the art is; but try to imagine finding this church in the middle of no where and then seeing these wall paintings for the very first time. It was stiflingly hot and dusty outside; everything was so bright you had to shade your eyes from the sun. When you enter the little church the air is cool and dark. As your eyes acclimatise to the dark you begin to pick out shapes on the wall, then the full impact of what you are seeing hits you and you stand there mesmerised. Your gaze slowly travels around the whole room and then over the ceiling, you struggle to take in what you are seeing. I must have looked like a stunned goldfish standing in the middle of this tiny building with my mouth open utterly gob smacked as they say. It is without doubt the most unexpected piece of art I could possibly offer up here.

If anyone sees this and knows more about this church I would love to hear from you.

 

I don't seem to be able to make these pictures enlarge but i have saved them all in my Multiply photos so you can get a better look at them there.

 

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/51/St_Nicholas_church_Rhodes