Examples of Late Byzantine and post-Byzantine iconography

Disclaimer

The article below was originally written as an undergraduate assignment for the Greek Open University in 2004, when the author’s academic skills were still developing. Although it does not match later examples of the same author’s work, it is written thoroughly and contains useful information for students and other readers with non-specialised knowledge; therefore, it has been included on this website.

The original assignment, on which this article is based, was written in Greek and was intended for specialised academic art historians. Some points and arguments might still be lost in translation, so readers may wish to consult the web for additional information on unfamiliar words or specialised vocabulary.

The bibliography used for this article is limited, consistent with the requirements of an undergraduate assignment of this level. No additional bibliography was included during the translation of this work into English due to time and access limitations. The original bibliography was studied from translated Greek copies; therefore, the page numbers in the citations below match those copies, not the original volumes.

In a series of other articles, the author has already expressed objections and complaints about how the publishing industry abuses and exaggerates matters related to the intellectual property rights of photographed artefacts. For this online article, the author decided to play by the book and did not include any photographs that could attract negative attention. Still, the article includes links to websites illustrating the artefacts mentioned in this study.

The point the author is trying to make is simple: no matter how much effort authors and publishers put into restricting the circulation of photographs of archaeological artefacts, there will always be websites that circulate such material for free and beyond their reach. This effort is pointless.

Introduction

The aim of this short study is to examine the development of Byzantine iconography during the Late Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods. Its main claim is that two signed artworks from each period, all sharing the same theme, demonstrate how these periods differ in artistic context and style.

The Late Byzantine period (AD 1261-1453)

During the Late Byzantine period, artistic tendencies in religious iconography were strengthened by the revival of Byzantine traditions from earlier periods. This was primarily due to the recapture of Constantinople by the Byzantines in AD 1261 and the ‘Palaeologian Renaissance’, which also revived traditions from the ancient Greek (pagan) past (Albani 1999a, 29-30). The art of this period was characterised by greater realism, grotesque elements, motion, expressiveness and emotional charge. Its themes came from the Circle of the Passions of Christ, the life of the Virgin Mary (the Panagia Theotokos), the stories of the Akathist Hymn, the Divine Liturgy, and the Menologia and the Lives of the Saints of the Christian faith (Albani 1999b, 127-30).

A characteristic iconographic example of the Late Byzantine period is associated with the life of St. George. It is a portable icon by the painter Ioannis, now found at the temple of St. George at Sruga, FYROM. The icon dates to AD 1266/7 (Vokotopoulos 1994, 84). The inscription on the back states that it was commissioned by the Referendarius Ioannnis during the same period at Struga, and that the painter was also named Ioannis. The icon measures 146cm in height and 86cm in width (Vokotopoulos 1994, 84).

http://www.visit-struga.com/en/places-to-visit/churches-and-monasteries/church-of-st-george

St. George is depicted standing, with a calm expression and a melancholic gaze. He wears a halo and a military uniform, consisting of a cuirass and a long red chlamys extending down to the Saint’s shins. The frontal side of the cuirass bears a large black cross that covers almost its entire surface. A smaller silvery cross is embedded in its centre, combining rhomboid and circular motifs. The four edges of the smaller cross touch the corners of the rhomboid motif enclosed by a circle, forming the shape of a bloomed flower. The cuirass stops at the Saint’s thighs, revealing a black chiton decorated with red bands that run down to knee height. The Saint’s lower body is covered in black leggings and brown military boots. In his right hand, he holds a spear; in his left, a rhomboid shield decorated with a central cross and radiating bands. The bulky shield touches the ground and covers almost half of the Saint’s height, so he appears to lean against it. His arms extend freely across the painted plank, while his static body posture is broken by a slight bend of the waist and right knee.

The form of the Saint is bulky and symmetrical in relation to his body proportions. Such proportions recall the naturalistic conventions of ancient Greek art (Albani 1999b, 128). The details of the body beneath the dress are rendered realistically, for example, the protrusion of the kneecap under the leggings. The static character of the icon and the two-dimensional representation of the event appear closer to the artistic conventions followed during the preceding Middle Byzantine period (Vokotopoulos 1994, 205). This suggests that such conventions continued during the beginning of the 13th century in the Late Byzantine period. The same applies to the icon’s golden background, which emphasises the image's transcendent nature. By contrast, most Late Byzantine icons of the Palaeologan period feature a plethora of background elements (Albani 1999b, 128), which are virtually absent in this example.

The post-Byzantine period (AD 1453-1830)

After the fall of Constantinople in AD 1453, Byzantine iconographic traditions moved to the Helladic mainland and followed independent developments across different regions (Albani 1999a, 51-2). Two of the most important representatives of post-Byzantine artistic traditions were the Cretan School and the School of North-West Greece. The former emerged in the large urban centres of Crete during the 15th century, such as Chandax (Herakleion), Rethymnon and Chania; it was influenced by Western European traditions and lasted until the 17th century, when Crete was finally conquered by the Turks. Its style continued older Palaeologian iconographic traditions and was better organised, although its broader character remained static. The School of North-West Greece first appeared at Ioannina during the 16th century and developed alongside the Cretan School. Its main features were dynamic representation, variation and density of artistic elements, and a characteristic technique in the representation of colours, which showed Baroque tendencies (Albani 1999a, 58-61).

St. George the Dragon-slayer, painted by Michael Damaskenos, is a typical example of Cretan art, dating to the second half of the 16th century AD. It is a portable icon painted in egg tempera, characterised by multiple Italian influences (Albani 1999a, 55). Today, it is located at the Temple of Panagia Spelaeotissa (Holy Mary in the Cave) at the Diocese of Corfu (Albani 1999b, 152).

St. George is depicted as the Dragon-slayer, an event that is never represented in previous Byzantine traditions. The actual representation of the Saint slaying a dragon is probably of Western influence, associated with popular knighthood novels of this period. The most common representation of St. George in the Byzantine tradition is static and lacks a narrative; the Saint is depicted motionless in a standing pose, holding weapons. By contrast, the Cretan icon shows St. George riding a horse and aiming at the dragon before striking with his sword. His facial expression is calm, and his body posture suggests determination. The representation is drawn in three dimensions, moving away from the frontality of the Late Byzantine traditions.

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The Saint’s right arm is bent and lifted at chest height, holding a sword. He is wearing a red cloak and armour that covers his chest and waist. Under the armour, the Saint wears a black chiton, and on his feet, military sandals that reach his shins. He rides a white horse with raised front legs, ready to fall upon the dragon. The dragon faces St. George, nearly dead, and its tongue projects from its mouth. Its look inspires fear and hostility. On the forehead, the dragon bears a reversed cross formed by five white dots. Its red wings are folded towards the ground, and its tail is curled. A broken javelin comes out of the dragon’s mouth, suggesting that the animal took an earlier hit from the Saint. With its second head, the dragon eats the corpse of a fallen figure, represented as a dark-coloured skeleton.

The scene’s background is represented in three different levels. The first level depicts a fully clothed woman in Western attire running in fear from the dragon. Her small body has been drawn to show the distance between her and the actual event depicted in the icon. The second level depicts a group of men on a tower on the right side of the icon, watching the duel between St. George and the dragon from a distance. The third level, on the left side of the icon, depicts a distant city, with its buildings and defensive walls rendered using geometric shapes. In the sky, four naked angels carry an open book on a red vale, which is probably the Bible.

Motion is expressed through the galloping of the horse, the movements of the wounded dragon, the rippling of St. George’s clothes and the running woman in the background. The icon includes another ten smaller representations, arranged in sets of five on the left and right margins. These representations associate with events from St. George’s life and contribute to the icon’s broader narrative. The military uniforms and the characters' clothing in these scenes are inspired by contemporary Italian fashion. Even the torture scene on one of the frames is conducted with the use of a large wheel, which was used during the Western European Middle Ages. The intense naturalistic conception of this artwork has been achieved through the realistic representation of the Saint’s and the horse’s anatomical details. Furthermore, emotional charge has been expressed through the dragon’s dying motions and through the escape of the running woman.

Michael Damaskinos was one of the most important representatives of the Cretan School of the 16th century. Depending on the type of commissioning, he was able to combine different artistic styles of his time (Albani 1999b, 157). In general, Cretan artists of the post-Byzantine period were capable of following already-established Byzantine traditions and of combining them with Western elements of post-Gothic traditions (Albani 1999b, 152). Michael Damaskenos, in particular, lived in Venice, where he became acquainted with Italian art. His compositions were characterised by realism, bright colours, harmony, geometric perspective, and depth of representation. The artist moved away from Palaeologan traditions and drew closer to the conventions of the Italian Renaissance (Albani 1999b, 158).

Conclusions

During the Late Byzantine period, there was a revival in ecclesiastic art due to the so-called ‘Palaeologian Renaissance’. In religious iconography, there was a shift towards realism. Late Byzantine icons were dominated by naturalistic elements and began to show motion, rich decoration and expression of emotions. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine capital ceased to be the centre of artistic production. Byzantine art continued in Greek territories under Venetian or Ottoman rule. During the 15th century, the Cretan School emerged, continuing Palaeologian art while combining it with Western influences introduced to Crete by the Venetians. Around the 16th century, the School of North-West Greece appeared, which was less receptive to Western influences and steadily followed the Palaeologian prototypes.

Bibliography

Albani, J., 1999a, ‘Introduction to post-Byzantine art’, in Papagiannopoulou, A. (ed.) Arts 1: Greek Representational Arts. Review of Greek Architecture and Urban Planning, Volume 2, Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, Patra: Greek Open University.
Albani, J., 1999b, ‘Visual works of the post-Byzantine period’, in Papagiannopoulou, A. (ed.) Arts 1: Greek Representational Arts. Review of Greek Architecture and Urban Planning, Volume 2, Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, Patra: Greek Open University.
Vokotopoulos, P., 1994, Greek Art. Byzantine Icons, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon.