Lot number 867 - Auction 142
SEHR FEINE UND MONUMENTALE IKONE MIT DER GOTTESMUTTER MIT CHRISTUS UND DEM JOHANNESKNABEN FLANKIERT VON DEN HEILIGEN SEBASTIAN UND ROCHUS

IOANNIS PERMENIATES Active around 1501 in Venice and Crete - 1550 A VERY FINE AND MONUMENTAL ICON SHOWING THE MOTHER OF GOD WITH THE CHILD AND ST. JOHN FLANKED BY STS. SEBASTIAN AND ROCH Veneto-Cretan, circa 1500 Tempera on wood panel. Christ's chiton and himation painted in gold assist. Vertical crack, minor losses, minor areas of retouching. 78 x 56.6 cm (without frame). Ioannis Permeniates was a Greek icon painter of the Renaissance, primarily active on the island of Crete. He is considered one of the representatives of the Cretan School, which flourished during the Venetian rule on Crete in the 15th and 16th centuries. This school combined Byzantine and Italian (Venetian) influences in icon painting, resulting in a unique style. Not many of Ioannis Permeniates' works have survived, but his work follows the tradition of icon painting, with a clear inclination towards Western techniques and perspectives that emerged during the Renaissance in Europe. Like many of his contemporaries in Crete, he developed a synthesis of Byzantine elements with the more modern Western styles of his time.