Voronin, N. N. Smolensk Painting of the 12th–13th Centuries (Smolenskaya zhivopis 12–13 vekov), 1977. In Russian.

Воронин Н. Н. Смоленская живопись XII–XIII веков. / Ин-т археологии АН СССР.
Москва : Искусство, 1977.
183 с. : ил. Твердый издательский переплет, альбомный формат (26 см).
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Voronin, Nikolai Nikolaevich. Smolensk Painting of the 12th–13th Centuries. / Institute of Archaeology, USSR Academy of Sciences.
Moscow : Iskusstvo, 1977.
183 pp. : ill. Hardcover, large album format (26 cm). In Russian.

This 1977 monograph is a seminal contribution to the study of Old Russian art, written by the eminent archaeologist and historian of architecture Nikolai Voronin (1904–1976). Published posthumously by Iskusstvo, the book represents the culmination of decades of research and archaeological excavations in Smolensk, one of the most powerful and culturally rich principalities of the pre-Mongol Rus'. Voronin’s work is essential for understanding the unique stylistic trajectory of the "Smolensk school," which developed its own distinct artistic language alongside the more famous schools of Kyiv and Novgorod.
The volume focuses on the monumental mural paintings discovered during the clearing of ancient Smolensk churches, most notably the Church of Michael the Archangel (Svirskaya). Voronin provides a meticulous reconstruction of the fresco cycles, analyzing their iconography, palette, and stylistic connections to both Byzantine traditions and local folk motifs. Through detailed descriptions and high-quality illustrations, the author demonstrates how Smolensk artists of the 12th and 13th centuries moved toward a more expressive, dynamic style that foreshadowed the later developments of Russian medieval art.
The book is presented in an elegant album format, featuring numerous black-and-white and color plates that document fragments of painting that are often difficult for the public to access. Voronin’s analysis is not limited to aesthetics; he contextualizes the art within the political and social history of the Smolensk Principality, making this work a vital resource for archaeologists and historians alike. In this study, Voronin provides a deep typological analysis that offers a deep dive into the internal logic of the Smolensk style, including the arrangement of architectural and decorative elements. To ensure scholarly reach across the academic space, the book includes a substantial scholarly apparatus based on the findings of the Institute of Archaeology, making it a bridge between architectural history and fine arts.
The volume is further enhanced by numerous paleographic and architectural illustrations, being supplemented with charts and tables that demonstrate the development of artistic systems across the Western Rus' lands. As a definitive monograph, it incorporates corrected and updated findings from the excavations led by Voronin, featuring content that cements its status as the "definitive" version of his research on Smolensk’s medieval heritage.