Preliminary Study of the Architecture and the Plastic Arts of the Zak'are Church in the Inner Castle (Aghjkaberd) of Ani

Abstract

The church in the Inner Castle of the Armenian capital Ani, which until now has not been studied properly, is one of the key monuments of the Armenian architectural tradition revival that began at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries. The purpose of this article is to reveal the features of its plan and plastic decor, as well as the preliminary determination of the place of this building in the development of architecture and ornamental art of medieval Armenia. The article determines the origins of the architectural type of cruciform churches with rooms in the four corners, which formed the basis of the composition of the church and the circle of buildings of the 12th-13th centuries, in which the variability of embodiments of this type is apparent. In the analysis of the facades plastic, particular attention is paid to the blind-arcade on paired columns on the Western and Southern facades of the church as well as the design of the windows. It is noticed that the master builder of Aghjkaberd Church models the shapes of patterns with a certain degree of liveliness. He creates some plant motifs free from flat surfaces and models carvings in some places in a manner of the sculpture. In subsequent studies of this monument, the authors will clarify some forms of the composition, perform a more detailed reconstruction of the facade decor and identify the genesis of the unusual style of ornamental carving. Keywords—Architecture of Armenia; sculpture; blind arcade; Aghjkaberd; Ani; the art of the late 12th-early 13th century