The Last Supper is a mural painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1495–1498, housed in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John – specifically the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him. Its handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion and complex display of human emotion has made it one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works. Some commentators consider it pivotal in inaugurating the transition into what is now termed the High Renaissance.
Theophanis Strelitzas, also known as Theophanes the Cretan or Theophanes Bathas was a Greek painter of icons and frescos in the style of the Cretan School. He passed much of his career as a member of the monastic community of Mount Athos.
Michael Damaskenos or Michail Damaskenos was a leading post-Byzantine Cretan painter. He is a major representative of the Cretan School of painting that flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries. Painters Georgios Klontzas and Damaskenos were major contributors to the Cretan School during the same period. Damaskinos traveled all over the Venetian Empire painting. He remained loyal to his Greek roots stylistically but incorporated some Italian elements in his work. He was strongly influenced by the Venetian school. He painted parts of the Cathedral of San Giorgio dei Greci. Damaskenos has 100 known works. He influenced the works of Theodore Poulakis.
In Thee Rejoiceth also known as Epi Si Harri is a tempera and gold leaf painting by Georgios Klontzas. The painting is a tribute to the Virgin Mary. Klontzas was active on the island of Crete during the second half of the 16th century. He was a member of the Cretan School. He was one of the most prolific Greek painters of the 16th century. Most of his works were copied by other artists. The In Thee Rejoiceth painting was copied by countless Greek and Italian painters. Theodore Poulakis created a version in the 17 century that is very similar to Klontzas's In Thee Rejoiceth. Franghias Kavertzas also painted a similar theme. He called his painting In You Rejoices. Leos Moskos also created his version of the popular painting. The Klontzas painting is currently at the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies Museum in Venice.
Wedding at Cana also known as Wedding Feast at Cana and Le Nozze di Cana is an oil painting by Michael Damaskinos. He was active during the second half of the 16th century in Heraklion, Sicily, Venice, and different parts of Italy. Over 100 works are attributed to the artist. Most of his work resembled the Greek mannerisms prevalent at the time also known as maniera greca. He was clearly influenced by Venetian painting. His version of the Wedding at Cana was a copy of Tintoretto's massive painting of the Wedding Feast at Cana. The monumental canvas was 4.4 m x 5.9 m or 14.4 ft x 19.3 ft. The painting was originally in the dining hall (refectory) of the convent of the Crociferi in Venice. Refectories typically featured large paintings of biblical banquet scenes. The monks preferred biblical banquet scenes because they desired the impression of dining with Christ. Damaskinos probably saw the painting at the convent or a copy of the masterpiece in Venice. The Damaskinos version is much smaller than the original. The painting is very important because it is one of the few instances where Damaskinos broke from the traditional maniera greca prevalent in most of his works. In this instance, he strictly followed the lines of Venetian painting exhibiting his superior craftsmanship as a painter capable of changing his style. El Greco was another painter who also painted in both styles. The Damaskinos version is currently at the Museo Correr in Venice, Italy.
Crucifixion of Saint Andrew is a tempera painting by Greek painter Michael Damaskinos. Damaskinos painted in Heraklion, Venice, Sicily, and other parts of Italy. He was associated with the Greek church San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice. His painting of the Crucifixion of Saint Andrew follows the traditional Greek mannerisms prevalent at the time. It is a rare painting of Andrew the Apostle crucified in the same style as his brother Saint Peter. Saint Peter refused to be crucified the same way as Jesus. He was crucified upside down. Saint Andrew is typically crucified in the form of an X rather than the cross. He was crucified in Patras where his remains can be found today at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, Patras. The Damaskinos painting of the Crucifixion of Saint Andrew can be found at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, Greece.
Adoration of the Kings also known as the Adoration of the Magi is a popular tempera painting by Greek painter Michele Damaschino. The painting is roughly the same size as Damaschino's The Last Supper. Both paintings were created around the same period. Michele Damaschino painted in parts of Italy and Greece. He was primarily active in Heraklion, Sicily, and Venice. He is a major representative of the Cretan Renaissance. He was a Cretan Renaissance painter who painted in the Greek mannerisms prevalent at the time. He also blended the style with the Venetian technique creating a new prototype of painting. He was followed by countless artists both Greek and Italian. His version of the Adoration of the Kings is a very important painting because it reveals the mixture of painting styles prevalent in most of his works. The Adoration of the Kings is now in the Monastery of Agia Aikaterini in Heraklion, Crete. It is part of the collection of Saint Catherine's Monastery Mount Sinai, Egypt.
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 Last Judgement Triptych is a triptych by Georgios Klontzas. Klontzas was a Greek painter and prominent member of the Cretan School. He is likened to El Greco and Michael Damaskinos. His artistic period was between 1550 and 1608. He had a workshop in Heraklion, Crete. He created many forms of art such as triptychs, portable icons or paintings, and manuscripts. Klontzas created several versions of the Last Judgment or Second Coming. His The Last Judgment also features the same theme but is a painting, not a triptych. Klontzas also created other triptychs.
Mary Magdalene is a tempera painting by Konstantinos Tzanes. Tzanes was a Greek painter active during the late Cretan Renaissance. Tzanes and his brothers migrated from Crete to Venice. His brother was famous painter Emmanuel Tzanes. They were both active during the 17th century. Twenty-one of his paintings survived. Both brothers uniquely contributed to the maniera greca. They made drastic improvements to the style redefining space and color. Their work is comparable to Michael Damaskinos.
Saint Mark is a tempera-on-wood painting created c. 1657 by Emmanuel Tzanes. Tzanes was a Cretan painter who migrated to Corfu and Venice. He settled in Venice with his brothers Konstantinos Tzanes and poet Marinos Tzanes. Konstantinos was a famous painter. Their combined existing works number over 150. Emmanuel replaced Greek painter Philotheos Skoufos as the priest of San Giorgio dei Greci.
The Virgin of the Burning Bush was a painting made of egg tempera and gold leaf on a wood panel. The portable icon was signed by Greek painter Michael Damaskinos. Damaskinos has over 100 known works. He was a distinguished member of the Cretan school of painting. He was from Crete. His contemporaries included Georgios Klontzas and El Greco. Damaskinos spent over twenty years traveling all over Italy. He spent a significant time in Venice. He adopted Italian artistic mannerisms which he applied to his paintings.
Christ the Vine, also known as the Tree of Christ, is a tempera painting by Leos Moskos. Moskos was active from 1620 to 1690. Twenty of his works have survived. He was originally from Rethimno, Crete. He traveled all over the Venetian empire. He worked on the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos. He also worked in Venice. Two other painters with the same last name were active during the same period. They were Elias Moskos and Ioannis Moskos. All three artists painted in the same style. Leos was in Venice around the same period as Ioannis. There is strong evidence that the three were related. Famous Greek painter and historian Panagiotis Doxaras was Leo’s student.
The Stoning of Stephen is a tempera and gold leaf painting by Philotheos Skoufos. Skoufos was active on the island of Crete. He traveled to Venice and eventually settled on the island Zakynthos. He was briefly a priest at the famous Greek church in Venice San Giorgio dei Greci. Nineteen of his works have survived. Skoufos created notable copies of Damaskinos's paintings namely The Stoning of Stephen and The Beheading of John the Baptist.
Christ the Vine is a tempera painting created by Greek painter Angelos. Angelos was active from 1425 to 1457. He was a teacher and protopsaltis. His students included some of the most famous painters of the early Cretan Renaissance. Andreas Pavias and Andreas Ritzos were his students and were heavily influenced by his style. Forty-nine of his works survived. Angelo’s Christ the Vine was one of his most important works.
The Virgin Pantanassa is a tempera painting by Andreas Ritzos. Ritzos was a Greek painter active on the island of Crete. He flourished from 1435 to 1492. The painter has an existing catalog of over sixty works attributed to him. He signed his works in both Greek and Latin. He is one of the most influential painters of the Cretan Renaissance. He painted in the traditional Greek-Italian Byzantine style. His work was also heavily influenced by Venetian painting. His teacher was Angelos Akotantos. He was also affiliated with Andreas Pavias. His son was famous Greek painter Nikolaos Ritzos. Ritzo's Italian contemporaries were Paolo Uccello and Fra Angelico. They all painted a mixture of the Greek-Italian Byzantine and Italian Renaissance styles. The art of Crete was heavily influenced by the founder of the Venetian school Paolo Veneziano.
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.
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.
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is a tempera painting created by Greek painter Emmanuel Tzanes. Tzanes features a catalog of artwork numbering over one hundred works. He was one of the most prolific artists of the 1600s painting in Crete, Corfu, and Venice. His two brothers Marinos Tzanes and Konstantinos Tzanes were also famous painters but Marinos is more well known for his famous poem The Cretan War Ο Κρητικός Πόλεμος. All three artists were members of the Late Cretan School and early Heptanese School (painting) they were known for participating in the movement that integrated Flemish engravings into the Greek and Italian art world.
Transfiguration and Monastic Scenes is a multi-themed tempera painting created by Greek painter Georgios Klontzas. Klontzas was a Cretan Renaissance painter. The artist was hired to assess work completed by El Greco. Klontzas was from a wealthy family and owned a successful workshop in the center of Crete. His existing catalog consists of Fifty-four works. He completed incredible triptychs and manuscripts. Klontzas and Micheal Damaskinos are two of the most prominent Greek painters of the 16th century due to the size of their catalogs and the popularity of their works excluding El Greco.
