Modeling the Sunlight Illumination of the Church at Studenica Monastery

Abstract

The Church of the Mother of God at Studenica Monastery in Serbia was estab- lished by the medieval Serbian ruler and founder of his own dynasty, Stefan Nemanja (r. 1169–1196).1 The church is finely proportioned. Sophisticated treatment of wall surfaces additionally enriches the high-quality construc- tion in stone (figure 10.1). Nicely carved architectural sculpture enlivens the church exterior while extensive fresco decoration adorns the interior walls. The building is a single-nave structure, with a dominant square-based domical core and a tripartite sanctuary, typical for Byzantine-rite churches (figure 10.2). Architecturally and structurally speaking, this design is essentially a condensed form of a typical Middle Byzantine church, known as an atrophied Greek-cross church.2 In such churches, as in Studenica church, the lateral arms of the cross are reduced to narrow barrel vaults. Thus, these vaults effectively become mas- sive arches that project from structural piers; the same piers that carry trans- versal arches, which support the domical core of the structure.