- Heptanese School
The Heptanese School of painting ( _el. Επτανησιακή Σχολή, literally: "The School of the seven islands" also known as the "Ionian Islands' School") succeeded the
Cretan school as the leading school of Greek post-Byzantine painting afterCrete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasingWestern European artistic influence, and also saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in theIonian islands , which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century [http://www.archive.gr/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=50 archive.gr - Διαδρομές στην Νεοελληνική Τέχνη ] ] .History
The
Ionian islands orHeptanese from the 17th to the 19th century were under successive Venetian, French and English occupation. The relative freedom that the Heptanese people enjoyed compared with Ottoman ruled mainland Greece, and the vicinity and the cultural relationships with neighbouringItaly , resulted in the creation of the first modern art movement in Greece. Another reason for the regional blossoming of arts is the migration of artists from mainland Greece and especiallyCrete to the Heptanese wanting to avoid the Ottoman rule. In particularCrete from the 15th century and the sack ofConstantinople until the 17th century, when it was occupied by theOttomans in 1669, was the main cultural centre of Greece, as it was ruled by the Venetians who allowed and encouraged artistic work ("See":Cretan School ). The main representatives of the fusion of Heptanese and Cretan Schools areMichael Damaskinos ,Dimitrios Moschos andGeorge Moschos ,Manolis Tzanes andKonstantinos Tzanes andStefanos Tsangarolas .Artistic styles
Art in the Heptanese shifted towards Western styles by the end of the 17th century with the gradual abandonment of strict Byzantine conventions and technique. Artists were now increasingly influenced by the Italian Baroque and
Flemish painters rather than from their Byzantine heritage. Paintings began to have a three dimensional perspective and the compositions became more flexible using Western realism, departing from the traditional representations that embodied Byzantine spirituality. Such changes were also reflected on the technique of oil painting on canvas which replaced the Byzantine technique of egg tempera on panel. Subjects included secularportrait s of thebourgeoisie , which became more common than religious scenes [http://www.nationalgallery.gr/html/en/sylloges/eptanis_sxoli.htm New Page 1 ] ] . Bourgeois portraiture had an emblematic character which emphasised the class, profession and position of the individual in society. Frequently, however, these works also constitute penetrating psychological studies. The mature phase of the School of the Ionian Islands echoes the social developments as well as the changes that had occurred in the visual arts. Portraits began to lose their emblematic character. The early rigid poses were then succeeded by more relaxed attitudes (Kallyvokas ,Iatras ,Avlichos ). Other subjects from theSchool of the Ionian Islands includes genre scenes, landscapes and still lifes .Representative Artists
The first examples of the new western influenced art can be seen at the roofs of churches which were known as "ourania" or "sofita". A pioneer in this change was
Panagiotis Doxaras (1662-1729), aManiot who was taughtByzantine iconography from theCretan Leo Moschos . Later Doxaras would travel to Venice to study painting and he would abandon Byzantine iconography to dedicate himself to western art. Having as a quide the works ofPaolo Veronese he would later paint the roof of the church ofSaint Spyridonas inCorfu [Λάμπρου, Σπ.: Συμπληρωματικαί ειδήσεις περί του ζωγράφου Παναγιώτου Δοξαρά Ν. *Ελληνομνήμων ή Σύμμικτα Ελληνικά, τ. 1, 1843] . In 1726 he wrote the famous although controversial and much debated theoretical text "On painting" (Περί ζωγραφίας) in which he addressed the need for Greek art to depart from the Byzantine art towards western european art. His article even today is the subject of much discussion in Greece [Δοξαράς, Παναγιώτης: Περί ζωγραφίας, εκδ. Σπ. Π. Λάμπρου, εν Αθήναις, 1871; Αθήνα (Εκάτη 1996)] .Nikolaos Doxaras (1700/1706-1775), son of Panagiotis Doxaras continues the artistic legacy of his father. In 1953–1954 he painted the roof ofSaint Faneromeni in Zate that unfortunately was destroyed at an earthquake in 1953. Only a part of it has been saved and is exhibited today at theZante Museum . Other contemporary artists of Doxaras were theZante painterIeronymos Stratis Plakotos and theCorfiot Stefanos Paziyetis .The Zante priests and painters
Nikolaos Koutouzis (1741-1813) and his pupilNikolaos Kantounis (1767-1834) continued to paint according to western european standards and were particularly known for theirrealistic portraiture that emphasises the emotional background of the subject.Dionysios Kalivokas (1806-1887) andDionysios Tsokos (1820-1862) are considered the last perhaps painters of theHeptanese school .Later Heptanese artists
The sculptor and painter
Paulos Prosalentis is the firstneoclassical sculptor of modern Greece.John Kalosgouros , a sculptor, architect and painter produced the marble bust of Countess Helen Mocenigo, a portrait ofNikolaos Mantzaros and a portrait ofJohn Romanos .John Chronis was another exponent of the prevailing neoclassical architectural trend. Some of his most important works are the Capodistria Mansion, the Ionian Bank, the former Ionian Parliament, the churches of St. Sophia and All Saints and the little church of Mandrakina.Dionysios Veyias was born inCephalonia in 1819, considered to be one of the first to practice the art of engraving in Greece.Charalambos Pachis founded in 1870 a private school of painting in Corfu and is considered as the most important landscape painter of theSeptinsular School of Painting along withAngelos Giallinas that specialised in water-colours. Another well known painter isGeorge Samartzis who was almost restricted to portraiture.Spyridon Scarrellis is best known for his water-colours andMarkos Zavitsianos excelled in portrait painting and is considered an outstanding exponent of pictorial art in Greece [ [http://www.corfuxenos.gr/History/finearts.htm Culture: Fine Arts ] ] .End of the Heptanese School period
Later Heptanese painters such as
Nikolaos Xydias Typaldos (1826/1828–1909),Spyridon Prosalentis (1830–1895),Haralambos Pahis (1844–1891), and many others seem to distance themselves from theHeptanese school principles and are influenced by more modern Western European artistic movements. The liberation of Grece has transferred the Greek cultural centre from the Heptanese toAthens . Particularly important for that was the foundation in 1837 of theAthens Polytechnic that preceded theAthens School of Fine Arts . In the new school many artists wre invited to teach such as the ItalianRaffaello Ceccoli , the FrenchBonirote , the GermanLudwig Thiersch and the Greeks Stephanos andVikentios Lantsas . Among the first students of the school wasTheodoros Vryzakis .See also
*
Ionian islands
*Art in modern Greece
*Greek art
*National Gallery of Athens External links
* [http://www.nationalgallery.gr National Gallery of Athens official website]
* [http://www.corfuxenos.gr/History/finearts.htm Corfu Fine Arts]References
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