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Ioannis Pagomenos (, c.1285–after 1340) was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
painter in the
Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the ...
active in Venetian-ruled
Crete 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 ...
. He created fresco cycles for rural Orthodox churches under commission from ordinary members of the local peasant communities, who acted as collective patrons. While he could be considered a forerunner to 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, beco ...
, which saw success in producing hybrid-style icons for an international clientele, his work was more traditional in character and only incorporated
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
influences in secondary details, as it catered to regional tastes. His style nonetheless shows significant development over the years. His frescos survive in four districts of the
Chania prefecture Chania (), also spelled Hania, is one of the four regional units of Crete; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of Chania. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of Rethymno to the east. The western ...
, with the majority in the mountainous province of Selino, which displays the highest density of church painting in Crete. His art influenced Andreas Pavias, Angelos Akotantos, Andreas Ritzos, and Nikolaos Tzafouris. By 1337/8 Pagomenos was working together with his son Nikolaos within the framework of a small family workshop of painters, other examples of which are known from contemporary Crete and the Aegean.


Life

Pagomenos was most likely born in
Candia The name Candia can refer to: People * The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th) * Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia * Antoinette Candia-Bailey, American academic administrator * Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-It ...
where his surname is well attested, in contrast to Selino. He is also supposed to have trained there as an artist, due to the weakness of Chania as an urban centre at the time. The early fourteenth-century Cretan painters Theodoros Daniil and his nephew Michail Veneris, also active in western Crete, might have exerted a formative influence on Pagomenos before he developed his own distinctive style. His contemporaries elsewhere in the
Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
included Manuel Panselinos, Michael Astrapas and Eutychios from
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. The only record of Pagomenos' life is in the churches he signed. His career in western Crete spanned nearly three decades from 1313/4 to 1340, and his workshop continued to operate into the 1360s under the new stylistic direction of his son Nikolaos.


Known work

The painter's own name has been deciphered in nine dedicatory inscriptions to date, with a tenth mention being traced to Pagomenos through family context: *St George (Agios Georgios) in Komitades,
Sfakia Sfakiá () is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. ...
1313/4 (signed by Pagomenos) *St Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) at Moni, Selino 1315 (signed by Pagomenos) *Dormition (Koimesis) of the Theotokos in Alikampos,
Apokoronas Apokoronas () is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the municipality is the village Vry ...
1315/6 (signed by Pagomenos) *St Demetrius (Agios Dimitrios) at Vrysali in Leivada, Selino 1315/6 (signed by the monk Nifon and by Pagomenos as a second painter) *St George (Agios Georgios) in Anydroi, Selino 1323 (signed by Pagomenos) *St Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) in Maza,
Apokoronas Apokoronas () is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west Crete, Greece. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of Chania itself. The seat of the municipality is the village Vry ...
1325/6 (signed by Pagomenos) *Virgin Mary (Panagia Evangelistria) at Beilitika in Kakodiki, Selino 1332 (signed by Pagomenos) *Archangel Michael (Archangelos Michail) in Kouneni (now Vathi),
Kissamos Kissamos () is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as ...
1336/7 (signed by Pagomenos and his son Nikolaos) *St George (Agios Georgios) at Tsarkos/Kakos Potamos in Prodromi, Selino 1337/8 (signed by Ioannis Pagomenos and Nikolaos) *St John the Theologian (Agios Ioannis o Theologos) in Kalamos, Selino 1340 (signed by a Ioannis and a Nikolaos, i.e. the Pagomenoi) In addition, the workshop of Pagomenos has been credited with the below dateable church paintings: *Archangel Michael (Archangelos Michail) at Kavalariana in
Kandanos Kandanos or Kantanos (), also Candanos, is a town and former municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, of which it is a m ...
, Selino 1327/8 (signed by a Ioannis; attribution rejected on stylistic and palaeographic grounds by Lymberopoulou but upheld by Tsamakda also on stylistic grounds) *St John the Theologian (Agios Ioannis o Theologos) at Trachiniakos in
Kandanos Kandanos or Kantanos (), also Candanos, is a town and former municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, of which it is a m ...
, Selino 1329 (unsigned, attributed on stylistic grounds to the workshop of Pagomenos) *Apostles Peter and Paul (Agioi Apostoloi Petros kai Pavlos) in Kopetoi, Selino 1334/5 (attributed by Maderakis) *Virgin Mary (Panagia) in Kadros, Selino 1338/9 *St Pantaleon (Agios Panteleimon) in Prodromi, Selino (attributed) *Virgin Mary (Panagia) at Skafidia in Prodromi, Selino 1347 (signed by a Ioakeim, whom Kalokyris supposes to be Pagomenos under a monastic name, and whom Ioannidou sees as a younger painter in the workshop of Pagomenos, possibly another of his sons) *St Anna (Agia Anna) at Anisaraki in
Kandanos Kandanos or Kantanos (), also Candanos, is a town and former municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, of which it is a m ...
, Selino 1352 (signed by a Nikolaos and another painter) *St Paraskevi (Agia Paraskevi) at Trachiniakos in
Kandanos Kandanos or Kantanos (), also Candanos, is a town and former municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, of which it is a m ...
, Selino 1362 (?)


Gallery

File:Ioannis Pagomenos Crucifixion of Jesus.png, Crucifixion of Jesus File:Ioannis Pagomenos Saint Demetrios.png, St Demetrius File:Ioannis Pagomenos Signature Plaque.png, Signature inscription (St Nicholas, Maza) File:Ioannis Pagomenos Agios Stephanos.png, St Stephen File:Anydroi frescos.jpg, St George (St George, Anydroi) File:Ναός Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου, Έλος Χανίων 1028.jpg, St John File:Agios Nikolaos, Maza - Baptism of Christ (detail).jpg, Baptism of Christ (detail) (St Nicholas, Maza) File:Agios Nikolaos, Maza - Hypapante.jpg, Presentation of Christ at the Temple (St Nicholas, Maza) File:Agios Nikolaos, Maza - Philoxenia of Abraham (detail).jpg, Hospitality of Abraham (detail) (St Nicholas, Maza)


See also

*
Fra Angelico Fra Angelico, O.P. (; ; born Guido di Pietro; 18 February 1455) was a Dominican friar and Italian Renaissance painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Giorgio Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent" ...
*
Cimabue Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian p ...
*
Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...
*
Gentile da Fabriano Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic pictorial style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his '' Adoration of the ...
* Maza, Crete * Nikolaos Philanthropinos


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagomenos, Ioannis People of medieval Crete 1285 births 1350 deaths Byzantine painters Christian iconography 1280s births 14th-century deaths 14th-century Byzantine artists 14th-century Greek painters Artists from Heraklion