In 1211, Venice conquers Crete and for the following centuries, due to its strategic location and rich production in agricultural products and farming, the island becomes an important exportation and trading hub ruled by a wealthy and intellectually active aristrocracy. After the conquest of Costantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, many intellectuals and artists migrated to Crete. There, the byzantine world starts to blend with the western renaissance that is in the meantime in full swing in Italy, creating a unique idiom that spurs a booming artistic life, most notably with regards to theater, literature, poetry, architecture and painting. The “Cretan Renaissance” flourished until 1669, year that Candia (present day Heraklion) surrendered to the Ottomans after twenty years of siege, the longest known in European history.
The Cretan iconographers mix the Byzantine religious painting tradition with Italian art, influenced in particular by italian masters such as Giovanni Bellini and Titian, both in terms of choice of subjects and technique, producing in particular, portable icons which are both easy to transport and are also used as collectibles. With orders coming either from the local aristocracy and a wealthy merchand class, from churches in Italy and prominent monasteries of the Orthodox diaspora, the Cretan icon painters developed the capacity to paint both in forma greca and in forma a la latina, which artists mastered and utilised according to the circumstances, often combining elements from both traditions in one painting, depending on the order. In the 17th century AD, Candia had around 15.000 inhabitants and around 180 painters which demonstrates the artistic flourishing in Crete. Cretan iconographers were organised in a guild, based on the Italian model, and their workshops were othen quite populous.
The most famous and probably the most singificant painter of portable icons isMichail Damaskinos , that also worked for many years in Venice. Other important figures are in the 15th centry, Andreas Ritzos , and Nikolaos Tzafouris , followed in the 16th century by Georgios Klontzas . Dominikos Theotocopoulos (El Greco) trained in a Cretan workshop of the time and was already a maestro, meaning he could pain in any style, at the age of 22. After 1567 he moved to Italy and later Spain and developed a very distinguished style. After the surrender of Candia, many painters such as Emmanuel Tzanes Bounialis and Theodoros Poulakis relocated to Venice and the Ionian Islands as well as to other Orthodox centers. Others like Theofanis Strelitzas-Bathas moved to Meteora and Mount Athos where they, in turn, contributed to the renewal of the local orthodox painting traditions. The Cretan iconography has been particularly influential in the further development of Orthodox painting in the Greek, Slavic and Arab worlds.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
