''The Virgin Eleousa'' is a

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

painting attributed to

Angelos Akotantos Angelos Akotantos (Greek language, Greek: Άγγελος Ακοτάντος 1390-1457) was a Greeks, Greek painter, educator, and protopsaltis. He painted in the Byzantine style or Italo-Byzantine, maniera greca. He represented the transition from ...

. Angelos Akotantos was a Greek painter active on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

during the first half of the 15th century. He is considered one of the founding members of the

Cretan School Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becomi ...

along with

Andreas Pavias Andreas Pavias ( el, Ανδρέας Παβίας 1440-1504/1512) was a Greek painter and educator. He was one of the founding fathers of the Cretan School, and his works influenced countless artists both Italian and Greek; paintings by Pavias co ...

, Andreas Ritzos, and

Nikolaos Tzafouris Nikolaos Tzafouris ( el, Νικόλαος Ζαφούρης η Τζαφούρης; 1468–1501), also Niccolo, Niccolò, Niccolö, Zafuri, Zafuris, was a Greek Renaissance painter. He was one of the founders of the Cretan School. He was influe ...

. Over fifty paintings are attributed to Angelos Akotantos. His works served as a prototype for Greek paintings for over five hundred years. Angelos Akotantos was active in

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

. He was very wealthy. Much of the information about his life was drawn from a will written in 1436. Historians consider him to have been active between 1425 and 1457. Angelos Akotantos completed many icons of the Virgin and Child in the

Eleousa The Eleusa (or ''Eleousa''; el, Ἐλεούσα – ''tenderness'' or ''showing mercy'') is a type of depiction of the Virgin Mary in icons in which the Christ Child is nestled against her cheek. In the Western Church the type is often known as t ...

position. The Eleousa position was drawn from Byzantine prototypes. The style was used by both Greek and Italian painters during the period predating the Italian and Cretan Renaissance. The Greek painters continued the tradition of emulating the Byzantine masters while Italian painters adopted oil painting as opposed to egg

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

commented on the technique in his famous book ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-ce ...

''. In his book, Vasari coined the phrase

maniera greca Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...

. By the 1500s, Angelos Akotantos and his contemporaries painted in the

. Many of the icon painters chose to emulate Angelos Akotantos, strictly adhering to the traditional

painting style. Angelos's ''The Virgin Eleousa'' and ''

Saint Anne with the Virgin ''Saint Anne with the Virgin'' is a tempera painting attributed to the Greek painter Angelos Akotantos. Angelos Akotantos is one of the founding members of the Cretan School along with Andreas Ritzos, Andreas Pavias, and Nikolaos Tzafouris. Angel ...

'' were the most copied paintings. The original ''Virgin Eleousa'' is at the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

Description

The work is in egg

and gold leaf on wood with dimensions of 96 cm (37.7 in) × 70 cm (27.5 in). The painting was finished in the early part of the 15th century. The prototype was used during the Byzantine period. Both Greek and Italian artists followed the style. The Virgin is leaning to the left as she embraces the infant. Her face and neck are elongated. She has a unique headdress under her cloak. There are three stars on her robe. The three stars are taken from traditional Greek Byzantine and Italian prototypes. The robe is also elaborately decorated around the infant's legs. His robe features detailed striations clearly defining the space. Her fingers are long; her right hand holds the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

. Her elaborately decorated shirt cuff appears on her right arm. Her lips are a rose color. Her eyes give a serious glance to the viewer. Her chin embraces the young infant in the

position. The infant faces his mother. His lips are the same color as hers. His head is tilted back slightly as his mother caresses the holy infant. His hair is brown. The infant wears an orange robe and a white baby shirt with decorations. His orange robe features elaborately painted striations allowing viewers to establish the grooves and ridges. In his hands he holds a scroll, which represents the New Testament. The gilded background allows viewers to connect with the Virgin and Child. The gold symbolizes opulence and power.

Gallery

File:Panagia Glykophilousa.Crete.15cent.Museum.of.the.Russian.icon.png, Similar Eleousa Virgin by Angelos Akotantos File:Angelos Akotantos - The Virgin Cardiotissa - WGA00097.jpg, Similar Eleousa Virgin by Angelos Akotantos File:Virgin Glykophilousa by Angelos Akotantos (Byzantine museum).jpg, Similar Eleousa Virgin by Angelos Akotantos

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin Eleousa, The 15th-century paintings Paintings in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art Cretan Renaissance paintings Paintings of the Madonna and Child Eastern Orthodox icons of the Virgin Mary

Description

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography