The Frescoes of Khujabi Church

The subject of my MA study is the mural painting of Khujabi Church (dated to the 12th-13th cc. Located in historical Kvemo Kartli region, now it is part of Northern Armenia). The main reason why the study of the painting was chosen is that the mural of this church has not been studied so far in depth.
The interest towards the Georgian cultural heritage in this region emerged in the previous century and since then a lot of articles have been published. Some of these publications are distinguished with some kind of tendency and interpret the issue of national identity of the monuments in a wrong way. The proposed research is an endeavor to study the mural painting of Khujabi church from different sides where the history and religious identity of the region will be discussed.
The project requires a multidisciplinary approach that is why the painting will be studied using different subjects: art history, history. Thus, the study will be based both on the study of primary and secondary sources and on fieldwork. During the fieldwork I will make complete documentation of the painting, including not only photography but what is more important I will make copies and schemes of the painting and inscriptions. I expect that my study will shed more light on the personality of the donor of the church who is depicted in Khujabi church. Based on stylistic background and iconography of the scenes, as well as theological content and the history of the region, the approximate date of the creation of mural painting will be defined. The wall painting will be discussed within the wide regional and Christian context.
The research will be useful for different scientific communities, including art historians and historians specialized in medieval Georgian art and history, as well as for the students and general public who want to know more about the medieval Georgia.