The Virgin Nativity Cathedral
Medallions

The Northern Wall, the Second to the East of the Northern Doors

Dionisy's frescoes. The Northern Wall, the Second to the East of the Northern Doors

In the medallion (75 cm in diameter) there is a flower-leaf ornament against a grey-black background. The geometrical pattern of the ornament is built of circular arcs of the medallion diameter with the foci on its circumference dividing it into four equal parts and a circumference of half the medallion diameter. The intersecting arcs form a “flower” with four broad “petals” that are halved by the small circumference. The outer parts of the “petals” and the spaces between them are also divided into two parts by additional arcs orientated in different directions. The broad “petals” in the small circle are filled with “pyramids” with traces of the same colours in the opposite ones: in the top left and bottom right – blue (azurite), in the rest – light pink (ochre) with darker shading at the bases above the “peas” by the circumference. In between are equilateral fan-shaped yellow (ochre) “flowers” with wavy edges facing the circumference and dark shading at the bases. The outer parts of the broad “petals” and spaces between them are filled with fan-shaped “flowers” of different shapes and location: two in each gap. Nearly all have the wavy edge facing the medallion circumference except for the middle left and bottom right by the small circumference that face upwards. Judging from the surviving traces of the pigments, yellow- blue and pink-blue alternated and the blue did not concur with the adjacent ones. All the colour elements of the ornament including the wide border (3.5 cm) between the two thin ones have a white outline (white chalk ground). In the centre of the medallion there is a trace of the leg of a compass. Light green cloth folds are painted over the ornament. Condition: thin cracks all over the medallion, damaged white chalk ground in the bottom half, partially strengthened; loss of the white edging in the upper part of the small circle (1x0.5 cm); nearly complete loss of pigments in the ornament elements except for the yellow “flowers” in the bottom half of the medallion; considerable loss of the cloth folds. Conservation: 2000, restorers O.V.Lelekova, N.G.Bregman.