Working Drawings of Icon Painters after the Fall of Constantinople: The Andreas Xyngopoulos Portfolio at the Benaki Museum
A co-publication of the A. G. Leventis Foundation, the A. G. Leventis Gallery and the Benaki Museum, this volume by Prof. Maria Vassilaki addresses the ‘technology’ of Post-Byzantine icons and presents working drawings used by painters after the Fall of Constantinople in Greek areas under Venetian or Ottoman rule. These working drawings were either embossed or pricked cartoons (anthivola), or painted drawings or sketches produced freehand. To date, the largest known collection of such working drawings used by Post-Byzantine artists is the Andreas Xyngopoulos portfolio, a bequest by this renowned Byzantinist to the Benaki Museum. The collection consists of 452 loose sheets, mostly pricked cartoons, intended for the creation of portable icons. Some of these can be linked to the famous Cretan painters of the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Michael Damaskenos, Emmanuel Tzanes and Theodoros Poulakis, and to icons produced by them, many of which are found in the Ionian Islands and, particularly, on Corfu. This book publishes the Xyngopoulos portfolio in its entirety and sheds light on the techniques used in the creation of icons from the 15th century onwards.
Grant given:
2013, 2014
