Cretan school describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the fall of Constantinople, becoming the central force in Greek painting during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Cretan artists developed a particular style of painting under the influence of both Eastern and Western artistic traditions and movements; the most famous product of the school, El Greco, was the most successful of the many artists who tried to build a career in Western Europe, and also the one who left the Byzantine style farthest behind him in his later career.
Dionysius of Fourna was an author, educator, painter, and monk. He was one of the most influential painters of the 18th century. He was a monk on the isolated self-autonomous monastery of Mount Athos. He was a self-taught painter. He was exposed to the works of the Cretan School and Heptanese School but choose to paint in the traditional style. His works are a mixture of different styles including the palaeologan renaissance. He was active from 1685 to 1744. According to the Hellenic Institute, two of his fresco and ten of his icons have survived. He was active while the Heptanese School flourished. His contemporary at the time was the painter David both artists belong to a class of their own. His student and coworker was famous Greek painter Kyrillos Foteinos. He was from Chios. Some of his other students were Zacharias Vakos, Agapios and two painters known as Petros. Dionysios was also the author of a famous manual on painting.
The Byzantine and Christian Museum is situated at Vassilissis Sofias Avenue in Athens, Greece.
The Heptanese school of painting succeeded the Cretan school as the leading school of Greek post-Byzantine painting after Crete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school, it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence and also saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in the Ionian Islands, which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century. The center of Greek art migrated urgently to the Ionian Islands but countless Greek artists were influenced by the school including the ones living throughout the Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire and elsewhere in the world.
San Giorgio dei Greci is a church in the sestiere (neighborhood) of Castello, Venice, northern Italy. It was the center of the Scuola dei Greci, the Confraternity of the Greeks in Venice. Around this period there was a similar church in Naples called Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci. There was also a Greek Brotherhood of Naples.
The Modern Greek Enlightenment was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment, characterized by an intellectual and philosophical movement within the Greek community. At this time, many Greeks were dispersed across the Ottoman Empire, with some residing on the Ionian Islands, in Venice, and other parts of Italy. Leonardos Philaras, one of the early advocates for Greek independence, played a significant role before the movement truly gained momentum following his death.
Andreas Pavias was a Greek painter and educator, one of the founding fathers of the Cretan School. His works could be found in churches and private collections throughout Italy and Greece, where they influenced countless artists. Seven of these paintings survive today, six bearing Pavias's signature. The most famous of the group is a Crucifixion.
Victor was a Greek painter in Venice active during the middle part of the 16th century. The only surviving painting is his self portrait. He was a painter during the High Renaissance. He drastically escaped the maniera greca. He is comparable to Ioannis Permeniates.
Victor was a painter active during the 17th century. He represented the late Cretan school. He was influenced by Michael Damaskinos. He kept his style simple and followed the lines of the improved maniera greca which was heavily influenced by the Venetian school. One of his main influences was Michael Damaskinos. He was active when four different artists used the name Victor. He has a huge catalog of work attributed to him. According to the Neo-Hellenic Institute, ninety-five of his paintings and one fresco survived. He was an extremely popular Greek icon painter.
Euphrosynos was a Greek Renaissance painter. He was a priest and influenced by Byzantine art and the early Cretan School. Five of his works have survived, all of them are in Greece. His technique resembled the works of Andreas Pavias, Angelos Akotantos, and Andreas Ritzos. Euphrosynos may have been a member of the prominent Klontzas family. His paintings of the Virgin Mary and Jesus are typical Cretan School paintings. His Jesus painting resembles Pavias's painting Christ Pantocrator. All of his works are at Mount Athos in the Dionysiou Monastery. They decorate the iconostasis. Fragkos Katelanos and Theophanes the Cretan were also working at Mount Athos around the same period.
The Stoning of Saint Stephen is an egg tempera and gold leaf painting created by Greek master Michael Damaskinos. He was a member of the Cretan school. He integrated Venetian painting with the Greek mannerisms prevalent at the time. Damaskinos was active in Heraklion, Sicily, Venice, and other parts of Italy. The Stoning of Stephen has been depicted by countless Greek and Italian painters. Saint Stephen was a protomartyr. He was the first martyr of Christianity. He was stoned to death for following the new faith. The painting is a depiction of that event.
The Crucifixion is a tempera painting by Konstantinos Paleokapas. Paleokapas was a Greek painter from the island of Crete. He was active during the early part of the 1600s. Six of his works survived, four are signed. The Crucifixion is one of the most popular events in human history. The scene has been duplicated countless times. Many crucifixion paintings were created by painters from the island of Crete. Some painters included El Greco, Andreas Pavias, Georgios Markazinis and Ioannis Moskos. Paleokapas created his own version of the popular subject. His crucifixion painting followed the prototype of many other paintings thematically. He added both the dice players and the resurrection of the dead. Andreas Pavias’s The Crucifixion (Pavias) and Margkazinis’s The Crucifixion (Margkazinis) both feature the popular pictorial representation of Mathews gospel. Paleokapas’s Crucifixion is located at the Gonia Monastery in Crete.
The Deposition from the Cross or Descent from the Cross is a tempera painting created by Greek painter Stylianos Stavrakis. He was active during the early part of the 1700s. His nephew and brother were also famous painters. His nephew Demetrios Stavrakis was also his pupil. He was also a goldsmith. Most of his works were completed on the island of Zakynthos. He was a representative of the Heptanese school and Greek Rococo. Fourteen of his paintings survived.
The Miracle of the Holy Belt was completed by Theodore Poulakis. He was a Greek painter originally from the village of Chania, Crete. He was associated with the Cretan School. He eventually migrated to the Ionian Islands. He was a member of the Heptanese School. He settled on the island of Corfu. He was a famous teacher. He signed a six-year contract to teach painting to Marinos Damistras son Tzorzi. The contract stipulated that his student had to follow him to Venice. Poulakis frequently traveled all over the Venetian Empire. During one period of his life, he stayed in Venice for over 13 years. He was very active within the painting community. He was also involved with the prestigious quarantia council. One hundred thirty of his work survived. The Girdle of Thomas also referred to as the miracle of the holy belt is a sacred relic located at Prato Cathedral in Tuscany, Italy.
Assumption of Mary was a painting created by Greek painter Nikolaos Doxaras. He was the son of famous Greek painter Panagiotis Doxaras. Nikolaos flourished on the Ionian Islands. He was a representative of the Heptanese School. He traveled all of the Ionian Islands painting. He spent close to a decade in Venice. He had a relationship with Johann Schulenberg. Doxaras stayed with him from 1730 to 1738 at the Palazzo Loredan. He was his confidant at the Schulenburg Art Gallery. He also painted for Schulenburg. He left Venice and continued painting all over the Ionian islands until his death. He was active from 1725 to 1775. Five of his paintings survived. Both Nikolaos and his father attempted to popularize oil painting.
Lamentation of Christ is an oil painting created by Greek painter Nikolaos Kantounis. He was a painter and teacher. He was a priest. His teachers were famous painters Ioannis Korais and Nikolaos Koutouzis He was a representative of the Heptanese School. His artwork was created during the Neoclassical and Romantic periods in Greek art. He was active on the island of Zakynthos from 1782–1834. He was one of the earliest members of the modern Greek art period. Over 164 of his paintings have survived. He is known for painting many portraits. He was a member of the secret organization for Greek Independence called the Filiki Eteria. Towards the end of his life he was honored with the rank of Grand Sakellarios.
The Holy Towel is a tempera painting completed in 1659 by Emmanuel Tzanes. He was a representative of the Late Cretan School and the Heptanese School. His brothers were the painter and poet Marinos Tzanes and the painter Konstantinos Tzanes. One hundred thirty works of art are attributed to Emmanuel. He is one of the most important Greek painters of the 17th century along with Theodoros Poulakis. He was from Rethymno Crete. He was active from 1625 to 1690. He was the priest of San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice for thirty years.
Tribute to the Eucharist was a painting made of egg tempera and gold leaf on a wood panel. The portable icon is attributed to Greek painter Michael Damaskinos. Damaskino's existing catalog features over 100 known works. He was a member of the Cretan school of painting. He was from the island of Crete. His contemporaries were Georgios Klontzas and El Greco. Damaskinos traveled all over Italy for over twenty years. He spent a significant amount of time in Venice. He adopted Italian mannerisms. He applied these new attributes to his paintings. He was friends with sculptor Alessandro Vittoria. He had a collection of drawings obtained from other Italian artists. Namely the Mannerist Parmigianino. He was also exposed to the magnificent works of Italian painter Raphael.
Nikolaos Gripiotis aka Nicolò Gripioti, was a Greek painter and teacher. He was a prominent member of the Cretan School in the early 1500s, working alongside such practitioners as Michael Fokas and Giorgio Miçocostantin. No work survives bearing his signature, but documents from the period record thousands of icons produced by his workshop. Nikolaos's son Ioannis Gripiotis also became a prominent painter. The family was related by marriage to Arsenius Apostolius.
Michael Fokas, also known as Migiel Fuca, was a Greek icon painter and art instructor. He came from a prominent family of painters, the founders of the Cretan School; working in this style, Fokas's workshop mass-produced icons for Greek and Italian clients. No surviving painting bears Fokas's signature, but history has preserved a commission for 200 icons which he received on July 4, 1499. This important document charges Fokas to produce works based upon the prototype Madre della Consolazione, originally created by Nikolaos Tzafouris and modeled after Giovanni Bellini.
Adoration of the Magi by Ioannis Permeniates
Death of Markos Botsaris by Marsigli Filippo
Mitre of 1715
