The sixteen studies in this book include six specially translated from Greek and another two published here for the first time. They deal with the art of painting in Crete at a time when the island was under Venetian rule. The main emphasis is on the 15th century and especially on the painter Angelos. More than thirty icons with his signature survive, and at least twenty more can be reliably attributed to him. Angelos was the most significant artist of a particularly significant era. It was at this time that the centre of artistic production migrated from Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire to Candia, the capital of Venetian-occupied Crete.
These studies try to reconstruct the personality of this late Byzantine painter, Angelos, not only through his icons but also through his will (1436), now in the State Archives in Venice. In this context they also explore the status of the Cretan painter in society. The large number of extant Cretan icons clearly indicates the striking increase in production from the 15th century onwards. Similarly, archival documents are used to examine the trade of icons in Crete and the way Cretan artists had to organize their workshops in order to meet the requirements of the market.
By:
Maria Vassilaki Imprint: Routledge Country of Publication: United Kingdom Edition: New edition Dimensions:
Height: 246mm,
Width: 174mm,
Weight: 1.088kg ISBN:9780754659457 ISBN 10: 0754659453 Series:Variorum Collected Studies Pages: 382 Publication Date:28 December 2008 Audience:
College/higher education
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
Maria Vassilaki is Associate Professor of the History of Byzantine Art at the University of Thessaly, Greece, and Scientific Advisor at the Benaki Museum in Athens.