In the hardships that befell Gracanica Monastery and other monuments following
the first attacks of the Turks, the original outer narthex with its
entire fresco decoration was devastated, and subsequently, after its
restoration, a greater part of the frescoes dating from a later time
were destroyed as well. Several representations have survived in it,
of which the depiction of the Second Ecumenical Synod and the illustration
of the poem "In the grave bodily..." are especially interesting
in thematic terms. The Baptism of Christ in the southern portion of the east wall,
however, is the most telling example of the character of the style:
of a very complex iconographic pattern, it features the troubled and
wide course of the Jordan River cutting across the scene, and several
episodes accompanying the event. Superbly painted and of glowing harmonies
of colors, almost all the figures of the participants and the antique
personifications have, unfortunately, lost their facial features, so
that opinions concerning the exact date of their creation differ considerably.
In all probability, they can be dated to the second quarter of the 16th
century, during the time of the educated and energetic Metropolitan
of Gracanica Nikanor who took an active part in spiritual life, renovated
the library which had burned down, and even established a printing press
in the monastery.
