Iconography
Tarnovo Artistic School continued and enriched the traditions and icon design of the First Bulgarian Empire. Some notable icons include St Eleusa (13th century) from Nessebar which is currently kept in the Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia and St John of Rila (14th century) kept in the Rila Monastery. Like the Boyana Church frescoes in the second one there is realism and non-canonical design. Another feature of the school's iconography were the large icons which were made to fascinate the viewer. An example of such icon is the Poganovo icon in the cathedral of Sofia depicting St Mary with John the Baptist which was produced in 1395. It is double-sided and with a size of 93x61 cm.
The icons were produced with varied material. The famous ceramics icon from the Preslav School during the First Empire remained relatively popular during 13th century. The icons for domestic use were usually 30x35 cm while those in the church altar could reach very large size. Bulgarian iconography declined after the Ottoman conquest of the country but those traditions were continued during the Bulgarian National Revival.
Read more about this topic: Painting Of The Tarnovo Artistic School