Constantine and Helen is a painting by

Ioannis Moskos Ioannis Moskos ( el, Ιωάννης Μόσκος; 1635-44 – 1721) was a Greek painter that migrated to Venice. Two other very famous painters with the name Moskos were active around the same period Elias Moskos and Leos Moskos. Leos Mosk ...

. He was a prolific Greek painter associated with Venice and the Ionian Islands. He flourished during the Late

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 ...

and early Heptanese School. Three painters with the same last name were active during the same period, the other two were

Leos Moskos Leo or Leos Moskos ( el, Λέος Μόσκος, 1620/30 – 1690) was a painter and educator. There were two other painters named Moskos active around the same period, Elias Moskos and Ioannis Moskos, who may have been his relatives. Indeed, L ...

and

Elias Moskos Ilias or Elias Moskos ( el, Ηλίας Μόσκος, 1620/1629- January 26, 1687) was a Greek educator, shipping merchant and painter from Crete. The last name Moskos was associated with three famous painters of the Cretan School alive during the ...

. Ioanni's painting style demonstrates the transition from the Late

to the early Heptanese School. He began to integrate components prevalent in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

. He was a Baroque artist. According to the Neo-Hellenic Institute, forty-four of his paintings survived.

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given nam ...

was the first Roman Emperor to officially recognize the new Christian religion.

and his mother Helen collected artifacts and written archives. During the time of their reign, the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

was discovered by Helen and brought to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. The

is believed to be the cross that was used to crucify Jesus Christ. Several Greek, Italian, and Spanish painters adopted the theme in their art.

Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da ...

painted his own version of the two saints. Miguel Ximénez painted Helen with the true cross. The painting ''Constantine and Helen'' is located in Sicily, Italy at the Museo Mandralisca.

Description

The icon was created using tempera paint, gold leaf, and wood panel. The painting's height is 43 cm (16.9 in) and the width is 32.5 cm (12.7 in). The artist implements the Rococo decorative motif found in Emmanuel Tzane's '' Saint Theodora''. Moskos adds an elegantly tiled floor. The tiled floor was a characteristic uniquely prevalent in the works of

Michael Damaskinos Michael Damaskenos or Michail Damaskenos ( el, 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 ...

Emmanuel Tzanes Emmanuel Tzanes ( el, Εμμανουήλ Τζάνες, 1610 – 28 March 1690), also known as Bounialis ( el, Μπουνιαλής) Emmanuel Tzane-Bounialis, Emmanuel Zane, and Emmanuel Tzane. He was a Greek Renaissance painter. He was an ...

also implemented tiled floors in his painting of ''

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

''. The heavenly celestial angelic gold background complements the divine nature of the figures. The columns enclose the space. The figures are dressed in richly decorated imperial clothes. The folds of fabric indicate the painter developed an advanced technique of painting. He was a mature artist. The artist creates three-dimensional space in his painting. Both figures embrace the cross. Both have authoritative facial expressions. Their faces were painted in careful detail. Constantine holds a scepter in his right hand. The crowns and robes are covered with precious jewelry. The painter's signature is at the bottom portion of the work of art.

Gallery

File:St-helena-heraclius-adoration-true-cross-jimenez-bernalt-spain-1480s.jpg, True Cross Ximénez File:Cima da Conegliano, Sant'Elena e Costantino ai lati della Croce, 1501-1503.jpg, True Cross

File:Theodora by Emmanouel Tzanes (1671, Byzantine museum).jpg, Rococo Decoratation Tzanes File:Tzanes Emmanuel - St Mark the Evangelist - Google Art Project.jpg, tiled floor example Tzanes

References

Bibliography

* . * {{Heptanese School (painting) 17th-century paintings Paintings of the Heptanese School Paintings in Sicily