''Saint Anne with the Virgin'' is a

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

painting attributed to the Greek painter

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

. Angelos Akotantos is one of the founding members of 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 ...

along with

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 ...

Andreas Pavias Andreas Pavias ( el, Ανδρέας Παβίας 1440-1504/1512) was a Greek painter and educator. He was one of the founding fathers of the Cretan School, and his works influenced countless artists both Italian and Greek; paintings by Pavias coul ...

, and

Nikolaos Tzafouris Nikolaos Tzafouris ( el, Νικόλαος Ζαφούρης η Τζαφούρης; 1468–1501), also Niccolo, Niccolò, Niccolö, Zafuri, Zafuris, was a Greek Renaissance painter. He was one of the founders of the Cretan School. He was influenc ...

. Angelos Akotantos was active during the first half of the 15th century. According to the

Institute of Neohellenic Research An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, fifty paintings are attributed to Angelos Akotantos. Angelos was extremely educated and owned a valuable library. He was a chanter and teacher of music; the Venetian authorities appointed him

protopsaltis In Christianity, the cantor, sometimes called the precentor or the protopsaltes (; from ), is the chief singer, and usually instructor, employed at a church, with responsibilities for the choir and the preparation of the Mass or worship service. ...

(first chanter), an honorable position carrying a government salary. He also taught painting; some of his students were

, Antonios Papadopoulos, and

. His works have been copied for over five hundred years. Greek painters continued the tradition of emulating the Byzantine masters. The Italian painters adopted oil painting opposing the egg

technique.

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

's famous book ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-ce ...

'' commented on the technique. Vasari coined the phrase

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 ...

. By the mid-1500s the style was considered the

. It was one of the first post-classical European terms for

style in art In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

. Angelos's ''Saint Anne with the Virgin'' and ''

The Virgin Eleousa ''The Virgin Eleousa'' is a tempera painting attributed to Angelos Akotantos. Angelos Akotantos was a Greek painter active on the island of Crete during the first half of the 15th century. He is considered one of the founding members of the Creta ...

'' were the most copied paintings. The original ''Saint Anne with the Virgin'' is at the

Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Description

The work is an egg tempera painting with gold leaf on wood with dimensions of 105.9 cm (41.7 in) × 75.9 cm (29.9 in). The icon was finished in the early part of the 15th century. ''Saint Anne and the Virgin'' is a unique thematic interpretation of

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

and her daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. The image is comparable to the typical Virgin and Child also known as the Virgin

Hodegetria A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of s ...

. In this less frequent depiction, the Virgin takes on the role Jesus usually portrays. Her mother Saint Anne becomes the heavenly grandmother. Jesus's maternal grandmother holds her infant daughter. The young Virgin is dressed in her typical attire. The Virgin's attire is reminiscent of the typical Byzantine Greek-Italian heavenly attire. The bright coloration reflects the painter's knowledge of the Italian Renaissance

cangiante According to the theory of the art historian Marcia B. Hall, which has gained considerable acceptance, ''cangiante'' is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance; i.e. one of the four modes of painting colours available to Italian Hig ...

technique. Anne embraces her daughter. She glances at her viewer with motherly charm. The bright garment she wears features striations. The viewers can easily establish the grooves in the different garments. The bright garment Anne is wearing features ornate gold patterns. The shirt cuff and undershirt are clearly visible. Her headdress is also clearly defined. The young Virgin Mary looks up at her mother, and in her right hand she holds up a sacred lily. Legend states that when the archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation, he held a lily in his hand in recognition of Mary's purity. Gabriel told the Virgin that she had "found favor with God" and would bear a son and name him Jesus. When Mary touched the scentless flower a magnificent fragrance arose. The miraculous flower blossomed outside her window when she accepted her fate and God's plan. She uttered the words to the angel Gabriel "Here am I, the servant of the Lord".

References

Bibliography

* {{Cretan Renaissance 15th-century paintings Paintings in Greece Cretan Renaissance paintings