Situated
in a beautiful setting, 5 km north of the town of Gura Humorului,
Humor church was built in 1530 by High Chancellor Teodor Bubuiog
at the behest of Voivode Petru Rares, on the site of a previous
monastery built before 1415. The monastery was closed in 1786
and was not re-established until 1991. It is now a small convent,
served by nuns - the villagers use another church, on a nearby
hillock. The church, devoted to the Holy Virgin, is smaller
than other churches of the painted monasteries and does not
have any
cupolas. Otherwise, it preserves the same traditional three-cusped
plan proper to most other painted monasteries. Humor is protected
by a wooden stockade rather than a stone rampart, and lacks
the characteristic spire - indicating that it was founded by
a boyar,
not the ruler. The belfry with a belvedere was erected in 1641,
under Vasile Lupu's rule.
The small church, with a wide open porch arched on three sides,
has a vault which is similar to the one at
Moldovita except
that the one at Humor seems to be floating, a sample of Byzantine
art highly appreciated by architect experts. The open porch
is separated from the nave by three columns connected through
broken arches which have crossed vaults. The windows frames
are Gothic. The open porch with arcades was the first of its
kind to be built in
Bucovina, an innovation influenced by both
the local building tradition (veranda, terrace) and the foreign
Renaissance (the lodge found later in the - Brancovan style-
). Another innovation is the - tainitza- (a hidden place) above
the burial-vault, precious objects were kept there, especially
in difficult times.
Humor was one of the first of Bucovina's
painted monasteries to be frescoed and, along with
Voronet is probably the best
preserved. The master painter responsible for Humor's frescoes,
which were painted in 1535, is Toma of Suceava, the most famous
church painter of the time. If at
Voronet blue is predominant,
Humor is mainly painted in reddish brown (from oriental madder
pigment), completed nevertheless by rich blues and greens.
The Last Judgment, placed on the wall beneath the unusual
open porch, is similar to the Voronet one, but, unfortunately,
the Tree of Jesse has been effaced by erosion. The significant
difference is that the Devil is portrayed as the Scarlet Woman,
though this patch is now so faint, that it has become nearly
invisible. Such misogyny had its counterpart in the peasant
conception of Hell, assumed to be a cavern upheld by seven
old women who had surpassed Satan in wickedness during their
lifetimes. Since the women are mortal, the legend goes, the
Devil (Dracul) must constantly search the world for replacements
- and he never fails to find them.
Another famous exterior painting,
Hymn to the Virgin, has been inspired by the poem written by
Patriarch Serghei of Constantinople,
and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who is reputed to have saved
the city during the attack of the Persians in 626. The Persians
are, however, depicted as Turks which is a common device in
these monasteries, their paintings being used in part for political
propaganda in addition to their spiritual meaning. The Siege
of Constantinople, displayed on a large surface, in a central
position, also suggests Moldavians’ wish to defeat their
enemies, the Turks. In the narthex, a mural painting displays
Petru Rares and his family; the prince is also buried within
the church together with his wife, Anastasia. The princely
throne in the church bears Moldavia's coat of arms.
The tombstone
of Teodor Bubuiog is situated under his portrait and that of
his wife’s. Petru Rares and his wife are both
buried in the monastery church as well.
Humor Monastery held
for many years the valuable 'Humor Evangelistry', a book dating
back to 1473, painted by monk Nicodim and displaying
a famous portrait of Stephen the Great. The monastery houses
a valuable collection of icons dating back to the 16th century.
The monastery, underwent several restoration works, in 1868,
1888, 1960-1961, 1967-1970, and 1971-1972, when the paintings
were washed.
