Christ Enthroned is a tempera

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

Emmanuel Tzanes Emmanuel Tzanes (; 1610 – 28 March 1690), also known as Bounialis (), Emmanuel Tzane-Bounialis, Emmanuel Zane, or Emmanuel Tzane, was a Greek Renaissance iconographer, author, clergyman, and educator. He spent the latter half of his life in Ve ...

, a Greek painter of the late Cretan school. It is currently at the

Byzantine & Christian Museum The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

in Athens. Tzanes was active for most of the 17th century, and has left 130 extant works. Born in

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

, Crete, he migrated to Corfu around 1646. In the 1650s he moved again, to Venice, where he became the priest of

San Giorgio dei Greci San Giorgio dei Greci () is a church in the ''sestiere'' (neighborhood) of Castello, Venice, northern Italy. It was the center of the Scuola dei Greci, the Confraternity of the Greeks in Venice. Around this period there was a similar church in Na ...

. Depictions of Christ enthroned were common among Italian and Greek Byzantine painters, who produced many versions of the theme. Tzanes's composition includes symbols of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

around the throne, making it a notable example of a pairing which occurs frequently in paintings of the

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and Heptanese schools.

Angelos Akotantos Angelos Akotantos (; 1390–1457) was a Greek painter, educator, and protopsaltis. He painted icons in the Italo-Byzantine, maniera greca, at a time when that style was moving away from the traditions of the Byzantine Empire and towards the more r ...

gathered together Jesus and the Evangelists themselves in his 15th-century painting ''Christ the Vine''; the Evangelists' symbols appear in the ''Enthroned Christs'' of Spyridon Ventouras and Stylianos Devaris.

Description

''Christ Enthroned'' is executed with

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

and gold leaf on a wooden panel. Its height is 106 cm (41.7 in) and its width is 66 cm (25.9 in). The work was finished in 1664. Set upon a shallow stage, the figures are constructed with substance, dimensionality, and complexity. The painting resembles

's treatment of the same subject, being of equivalent height and employing similar colors for the throne and costume of Jesus. Tzanes made the tunic pink instead of red, and widened the throne, creating more space for the celestial figure. The folds of the tunic and mantle exhibit clear lines, grooves, and edges. Symmetrically arranged around Jesus are symbols representing the

. Two appear atop the pyramidal supports for the back of the throne: the winged animal to our left is the

lion of Saint Mark The Lion of Saint Mark, representing Mark the Evangelist, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is an aspect of the Tetramorph. On the pinnacle of St Mark's Cathedral he is depicted as holding a Bible, and surmounting a golden lion which i ...

, and the winged ox or bull on our right symbolizes

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

. To our left, above Jesus's shoulder, an angel appears. This is the symbol of

Matthew the Evangelist Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...

. The final evangelical figure, to our right and above Jesus's other shoulder, is the eagle of

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

. All four symbolic figures are depicted with books, and Jesus also has an open book resting on his lap. The Evangelists depicted with

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

became popular in the art of the Heptanese school.

Gallery

File:Elias Moskos - Christ Pantocrator - WGA16289.jpg, Christ Enthroned ( Moskos) File:Christ Enthroned Orange.png, Christ Enthroned (

Angelos The House of Angelos (; pl. Angeloi; , pl. ) was a Byzantine Greek noble family that produced several Emperors and other prominent nobles during the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family rose to prominence through the marriage of its foun ...

) File:Spyridon Ventouras Christ Enthroned.png, Christ Enthroned Ventouras

References

{{Emmanuel Tzanes 1664 paintings Paintings in Greece Cretan Renaissance paintings Paintings by Emmanuel Tzanes Books in art Paintings of Jesus