Katerina Kontopanagou - Post-Byzantine Painting Art

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This research by Katerina Kontopanagou focuses on the art of painting of “Byzantium after Byzantium”. It is a fascinating, multifaceted subject of research in the fields of Byzantinology and Art History.
The 18th century was, in essence, the last period of the art of “Byzantium
after Byzantium,” i.e., the post-Byzantine art of painting, while at the same
time being a period of notable growth both for the regions under Venetian
rule and those under Ottoman rule.
The artistic profile of the frescoes and icons of the 18th c. was characterized by the enrichment of the established iconography with Italian art and Western baroque elements, disseminated through contemporary engravings.
These engravings, being widely diffused in the Balkans through the various trade routes, arrived in Epirus and the villages of Zagori, a region in which the painters examined in the present monograph were active. Of particular note is the painter Ioannis, the “most important painter from Kapesovo,” according to the late Konstantios. The pinnacle of his art has been captured in the church of Saint George in Negades. This work belongs to his mature phase, in which he worked together with his son Anastasios who had become an able artist, having worked for nine years in his father’s workshop, had become a capable artist. The large dimensions of the church of St. George offered the painters the opportunity to develop a notably diverse range of subjects, within which they included the uncommon iconographical cycle of the
seven Ecumenical Synods. The extensive scenes – a number of which give the impression of comprising independent paintings – demonstrate their iconographic preferences, eclecticizing trends, and artistic style. The objective of the present iconographic study is to shed light upon the post-Byzantine art of painting of the 18th c. Furthermore, as a fool-proof tool of analysis, the comprehensive iconographic examination proves the dominant characteristics of the artistic expression under investigation: enrichment, synthesis of heterogeneous traditions, and the aesthetic of an economically and culturally flourishing society.
The frescoes in the church of St. George in Negades comprise one of
the latest and most significant ensembles of frescoes of Epirus in the 18th c. During this period the trends were summarized and consolidated and the foundations for the transition to the modern Greek art of the 19th c. were set.
The art of the painters Ioannis and Anastasios is highlighted by analyzing
the wall decorations in St. George in Negades.
The English edition of the present study seeks to cover several fundamental desiderata in the modern research of post-Byzantine iconography and provide a tool for examining post-Byzantine art. The byzantine culture is complex and borderless.
The scientific community of the 21st century demands an extensive range of knowledge. The comprehensive examination in the English language, with references to iconographic sources from the Byzantine period to the 18th c. and the use of multiple examples drawn from both frescoes and icons, will offer opportunities of access for English-language scholars and promote the study of the post-Byzantine art of painting.
The present effort seeks, in addition, through the presentation of the monument and its art, to emphasize the profile of post-Byzantine art during its final phase.