Georgios Kalliergis or Kallergis ( el, Γεώργιος Καλλ ��ργης, 13th century – 14th century) was a

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

painter. He is one of the few Greek painters of the

Byzantine empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

known by name. Other Byzantine painters include: Theodore Apsevdis,

Kokkinobaphos Master The Kokkinobaphos Master is the conventional name by which modern historians call a master miniaturist active in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, during the 12th century. The name was given to the unknown artist by Jeffrey C. A ...

, and

Ioannis Pagomenos Ioannis Pagomenos ( el, Ιωάννης Παγωμένος, c.1285–after 1340) was a Greek painter in the Byzantine style active in Venetian-ruled Crete. He created fresco cycles for rural Orthodox churches under commission from ordinary members ...

. Kalliergis was one of the masters of Thessaloniki. He was part of the Macedonian School of painting. His last name Kallergis was associated with a noble family from the island of Crete. Two other very famous Greek painters Nikolaos Kallergis and Christodoulos Kalergis shared the same last name. Georgios was associated with Mount Athos, Veria, and Thessaloniki. His most notable frescos are in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

, Greece.

History

He was born in Thessaloniki sometime in the 13th century. He was a very prominent painter. Records exist about the painter at Mount Athos, Thessaloniki, and Veria. His family name was very important. The family name Kallergis was affiliated with the island of Crete. They were nobles. The original family name was Phokas. The name was changed to Kallergis during the Venetian dominion over Crete. There is a strong resemblance between Manuel Fokas's fresco painting of the Crucifixion in Crete and the Kalliergis Crucifixion. A famous poet from Thessaloniki named Manuel Philis wrote a poem about one of his paintings. Historians have deduced that Kalliergis lived and worked in the region. Some historians believe he was a student of famous painter Manuel Panselinos. The figures of Joseph in the Nativity of Christ in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ,

, are similar to the work of Manuel Panselinos. Kalliergis does not follow the style of the first phase of the

Palaeologan Renaissance The Palaeologan Renaissance or Palaiologan Renaissance is the final period in the development of Byzantine art. It coincided with the reign of the Palaiologoi, the last dynasty to rule the Byzantine Empire (1261–1453), and essentially preceded ...

. In a document discovered at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

in the monastery of

Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...

. On November 9, 1322, Kalliergis witnessed the sale of three houses in Thessaloniki to some monks from

. Kalliergis proudly signed his paintings. According to an inscription Kalliergis refers to himself as the greatest painter in all of Thessaly. His work is dated around 1315.

Painting style

His work follows the traditional prototype of Greek-Italian Byzantine art. His name was common in Cretan noble circles. Cretan painter Manuel Fokas may have been influenced by his work or possibly be one of his descendants. The Fokas family consisted of a large number of fresco painters in Crete. Clearly, the two Crucifixions exhibit many similarities. Both backgrounds feature planets. There are four figures visiting the Crucifixion of Christ. His head is tilted left in both frescos. The building behind the cross is closer in the Fokas version. Both Fokas and Kalliergis Crucifixion influenced Cretan artists. Frescos completed by

Theophanes the Cretan Theophanis Strelitzas ( el, Θεοφάνης Στρελίτζας 1490–1559), also known as Theophanes the Cretan (, pronounced ''Theophanes O Krees'') or Theophanes Bathas () was a Greek painter of icons and frescos in the style of the Cretan ...

testify to the influence of the craftsmanship of Byzantine masters. Pavias's

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

was also influenced by local Cretan artists and the new movement in Italian art. Italian painters

Cimabue 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 painter a ...

and

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) 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 religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

were active during the same period. Clearly, Kalliergis influenced countless Greek and Italian painters. Kalliergis has a painting of the Virgin and Child Hodogatria attributed to him. The art form was the framework for 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, becom ...

. Countless artists were influenced by the style namely:

Angelos Akotantos Angelos Akotantos (Greek language, Greek: Άγγελος Ακοτάντος 1390-1457) was a Greeks, Greek painter, educator, and protopsaltis. He painted in the Byzantine style or Italo-Byzantine, maniera greca. He represented the transition from ...

, Nikolaos Tzafouris, Nikolaos Lampoudis and

Andreas Ritzos Andreas Ritzos ( el, Ανδρέας Ρίτζος 1421-1492) also known as (Rico, Ricio, Rizo). He was a Greeks, Greek icon painter, from Crete. Ritzos is considered one of the founding fathers of the Cretan School. He was affiliated with Angel ...

Gallery

File:Christ Church in Veria Dormition Fresco by Georgios Kalliergis, 1315.jpg, Dormition of Virgin Mary File:Christ Church in Veria Resurrection Fresco on the Southern Wall by Georgios Kalliergis, 1315.gif, Resurrection Fresco

Market

In 2019, a painting of one of Kalliergis's Italian contemporaries

was found in the kitchen of an elderly French woman in northern France. The painting was called ''

Christ Mocked ''Christ Mocked'' is a small 13th-century panel painting by the Italian artist Cimabue, in tempera on a poplar panel. It depicts the Mocking of Jesus and is one of three panels known from a polyptych depicting the passion of Jesus. It was disco ...

''. It resembled the works of Kalliergis and other Greek contemporaries. The Italians refer to the style as the

maniera greca Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...

owing to the fact that the Greeks continued to refine the technique. Italian art transitioned from the

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the ...

into the more refined

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. The Greek Renaissance continued to utilize the

observed in ''

''. Although the

was Venetian influenced its roots are shared with

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

. The painting by

called ''

'' sold for €24m (£20m; $26.6m) at auction, setting a new record. The sale price was four times the estimate. The action house Acteon said it was a new record for a Greek-Italian Byzantine painting. It was purchased by an anonymous buyer from northern France.

References

{{reflist Byzantine painters Christian iconography Year of birth unknown Byzantine Thessalonians 13th-century births 14th-century deaths Christianity in medieval Macedonia 13th-century Byzantine people 14th-century Byzantine people 13th-century Greek painters 14th-century Greek painters