On June 24, at the Faculty of
Ecclesiastical Architecture, Icon Painting and Restoration of
Easel and Monumental Icon Painting of Tbilisi Theological Academy
and Seminary, bachelor’s theses were defended in the field of Icon
Painting, Restoration of Easel and Monumental Icon Painting.
The following persons were
present at the defense: His Eminence Abba David Metropolitan of
Alaverdi (Makharadze), Rector of TTAS Protopresbyter Giorgi
Zviadadze, Vice-Rector for Education and Administration Archpriest
Besarion Tsintsadze, Dean of the Faculty Archpriest Ioseb Vanidze,
Head of the Department of History of Georgia Professor Sergo
Vardosanidze, Head of the Rector’s Office Doctor of History
Professor Eldar Bubulashvili, Head of the Department of
Ecclesiastical Law Priest Longinoz Suarishvili, Spiritual Father of
the Faculty, Priest Nikoloz Skhulukhia, professors, teachers
and students.
The Students of the Faculty of
Restoration of Easel and Monumental Icon Painting - Tamaz
Bichikashvili, Nino Sulakvelidze and Tatia Khupenia - presented
both joint and individual works before the commission.
The title of the work jointly
performed by the students was “The Monumental Painting of the
Presentation of the Lord”. The Supervisors were Zaza Sumbadze and
Mikheil Beridze. The students were inspired by the 12th-century
miniature icon of Mount Sinai, as well as a fresco of the Sioni
Church of Ateni, which represents the scene of the Presentation of
the Lord - the All Holy Mother of God with the Savior in her hand,
the Righteous Joseph, Simeon the God-receiver, and Anna the
Prophet. The images of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Young Child
the Savior and the Prophet Anna were performed by Tamaz
Bichikashvili, the figure of the Righteous Joseph belongs to Tatia
Khupenia, and the figure of Simeon the God-Receiver - to Nino
Sulakvelidze. According to the other requirement of the bachelor’s
thesis, the students had to mechanically damage the work in several
places, and then, through restoration and conservation, restore it
in its original form. The assignment was excellently fulfilled and
the graduates received high praise from the members of the
commission.
The students successfully
accomplished the second task of the bachelor’s thesis, which was to
create easel icons on the theme of “the Assyrian Fathers”. An easel
icon is a kind of work that exists independently of another object,
autonomously, and is completed on a moving surface (wooden board or
other moving base).
Tamaz Bichikashvili performed an
Icon of Saint Ioseb of Alaverdi, Tatia Khupenia painted an icon
of Saint Ise Tsilkneli and Nino Sulakvelidze presented to the
commission an icon of Saint David of Gareji. The icons are made
according to the half-length images (of the 17th century) of the
Assyrian Fathers depicted in the Church of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in Ananuri. The students used the 12th-13th
century techniques and manner of painting. These icons received
approval from the commission members as well.
Bachelor’s degree theses were
defended by the students of the Faculty of Icon Painting as well.
They were Elisabeth Kheladze, Khatia Tkebuchava, Nikoloz
Lomitashvili and Mariam Ghonghadze. The supervisor of the group was
Lasha Vanidze. The topic of the Bachelor’s theses was “the
Evangelists”. Khatia Tkebuchava painted an icon of St. Matthew the
Evangelist, Elisabeth Kheladze performed an icon of Saint
John the Theologian, Nikoloz Lomitashvili presented an icon of
Saint Luke the Apostle and Evangelist and Mariam Ghonghadze painted
an icon of Saint Mark the Evangelist.
While working on the icons, the
students used the 11th-12th century miniatures of Mount Sinai, as
well as miniatures of the Gelati Four Gospels and those of Mount
Athos. An important novelty for the students was the process of
gilding the halos, which, according to the professionals, they
coped with well.
Our goal is to to help the
students develop their technical skills in the process of work and
to maintain their creative inspiration, their personal and
individual characteristic feature - said the teacher Lasha
Vanidze.
His Eminence Abba David
Metropolitan of Alaverdi, and the Rector of TTAS Protopresbyter
Giorgi Zviadadze blessed the students of Bachelor’s degree and
wished them further success.