The Church of the Archangels in Iprari is a relatively large single nave church located in the village of Iprari in the Kala community. It was presumably built in the 10th–11th centuries. The church's interior is adorned with murals created in 1096, while the paintings on the southern façade date from the 12th century.
The interior decoration in Iprari is the earliest of all the murals created in Upper Svaneti by the royal painter Tevdore. This is confirmed by a long inscription preserved on the entablature of the chancel-barrier, which not only states the exact date of the painting and the name of the artist but also identifies the patron—the entire Kala community. The inscription reads:
“In the name of God, this holy church was painted and adorned as a place of worship for all this valley—for the great and the small, their children and descendants, and for the souls of their deceased. Holy Archangels, have mercy in both lives. Amen. It was painted in the year 6564 (1096), in the indiction year 6, by the hand of Tevdore, the royal painter. Holy Archangels, have mercy.”
It is important to note that the inscription includes Tevdore’s title—“royal painter”—which on the one hand confirms his close relationship with the royal court, and on the other, provides evidence of such a title's formal existence at the court. Also noteworthy is that the commissioner of the murals was the entire community of Kala, regardless of social class—something quite rare in mural painting tradition.
The Iprari wall painting clearly reveal the unique traits of Tevdore’s artistic style. On one hand, they embody the consolidation, development, and generalization of the approaches and traditions established during the early phase of the Svaneti painting school. On the other hand, they raise these to a level of refined artistry, organically connecting them with the cultural and spiritual needs of his time.
This is evident both in the overall ideological concept of the painting—featuring a complex and meaningful program that serves as a kind of "apologia" for Orthodoxy—and in the structural harmony and clarity of the ensemble, where the individual parts are classically balanced and symmetrically related.
Tevdore’s distinctly individual and easily recognizable style is especially felt in the monumental, powerful figures, and in the manner in which he renders faces and garments. This gives his images an intense expressiveness and a strong emotional impact, charged with deep internal energy.
Useful information
| Location | The church is located in the outskirts, north to the village |
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