The Deesis row from Piva: A contribution to the study of the iconostasis and icon painting of the monastery of Piva

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the chronology of the genesis of the iconostasis and the choros of the monastery of Piva and to the attribution of some of their icons. It presents the hitherto unpublished Deesis row which formed part of the original altar screen and was painted sometime between 1586 and 1604. The Deeisis and the somewhat younger Crucifix (1606) were mounted on the old iconostasis above the despotic icons painted by Longin in 1573/1574. At least one of the two-sided icons from the subsequently made choros (1610/1611) is not his work. For the new carved wooden iconostasis (1638/1639) the Serbian painter Jovan painted the despotic icons and the icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the upper tier. A disciple of his painted the other eleven icons of the Great Feasts.