Michael Damaskinos
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(Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum, Athens, Greece).
Michael Damaskenos or Michail Damaskenos (Greek: Μιχαήλ Δαμασκηνός), 1530/35-1592/93, 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, whilst Crete was under Venetian rule. He was a near-contemporary of the most famous Cretan painter of any period, El Greco, but though Damaskinos also went to Italy, he remained much closer to his Greek roots stylistically.
Life and work
There is little information regarding the life of Damaskinos. He was born in Herakleion, the son of Tzortzis Damaskinos. He had a daughter named Antonia who married the painter Yannas Mantoufos.
Damaskinos lived in Venice for several years, where he learnt miniature painting and travelled extensively throughout Italy.[1] He was a member of the 'Greek Brotherhood of Venice' from 1577–1582, having been in Venice since 1574. Along with Emmanuel Tzanes he painted the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice.
In 1584 he was back in Greece and worked mainly in Crete and the Ionian islands. His works are in traditional Byzantine style but with many influences from Venetian painting, mainly Renaissance artists such as Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese. He used a particular rose colour that characterised his paintings; his figures' dimensions are defined by only a few brush strokes, while he was accustomed to drawing wooden and never marble thrones as was typical in the Cretan School.
That Damaskinos was highly regarded is shown by him being invited from Crete to paint the frescoes of San Giorgio dei Greci, despite all the many Greek artists already in Venice .[2]. Damaskinos was also the first artist to introduce paler flesh tones into post-Byzantine painting and it was one of the stylistic features of his work which proved highly influential from the second half of the sixteenth century and onwards.[3]
As was usual for distinguished painters, Damaskinos signed his works: ΧΕΙΡ ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΤΟΥ ΔΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΥ or ΧΕΙΡ ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΔΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΥ, ΔΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΥ ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΧΕΙΡ or even ΠΟΙΗΜΑ ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΤΟΥ ΔΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΥ (creation of Michael Damaskinos).[4]. Damaskinos having worked extensively in the Ionian islands, has contributed to the fusion of the Cretan and the Heptanese School of painting.
References
- ↑ J. Stuart Hay, Leonard Bower. "Greek Icon Painting." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 51,(292), 1927. pp:8-9,12-14.
- ↑ 2000_ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΟΣ-ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΔΑΜΑΣΚΗΝΟΣ
- ↑ A winged St. John the Baptist icon in the British Museum (2003). Angeliki Lymberopoulou Apollo.
- ↑ Cretan portable icons
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