A special exhibition featuring exceptional works Domenikos Theotokopoulos, the prominent Cretan-born painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance who is better known as El Greco (The Greek), opened in New York at the Onassis Cultural Center on Tuesday.
The exhibition “The origins of El Greco – The art of icon painting in Venetian Crete” will run until Feb 27, 2010 and includes 47 works, among them, 6 rare icons, made by the artist. The formal inauguration will be made by Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos and Archbishop of Crete Erineos on December 8.
The icons on display come from the Municipal Museum of Heraklion, Crete, the Metropolis of Syros, the Benaki Museum, the National Gallery of Greece and the Queen’s University, Kingston, in Ontario, Canada.
Eleven exquisite icons from the Collection of Ecclesiastical Art of Saint Catherine of the Sinaites in Heraklion, Crete, will be at the core of the exhibition.
According to Curator of the Byzantine Collection at the Benaki Museum and exhibition curator Dr. Anastasia Drandaki, “The icon painters in the workshops on Crete in the 15th and 16th centuries were renowned for their skill in painting impeccable panels not only in the traditional Byzantine manner but also in a style inspired by Western models.”
(source: ana-mpa)
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