Eustație Altini (Greek: Ευστάθιος Αλτίνης; c.1772, Zagora1815,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

) was a Moldavian painter of Greek ancestry; specializing in decorative art and iconostases. He studied in Austria with famous painters Heinrich Friedrich Füger, Johann Baptist Lampi and Hubert Maurer. He was one of few Greek painters to migrate outside of Greece, others included

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

and Belisario Corenzio. His work completely escaped the typical Greek mannerisms prevalent within the work of his contemporaries. He adapted a unique style mainly influenced by German Austrian art. He influenced 19th-century Romanian art.*

Life and work

He was born in Zagora, when it was still part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

). In 1780, following the Orlov Revolt and continued Russian involvement in Greece, supporters of Greek independence were persecuted, so his family fled to

, the capital of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, which, at that time, was under control of the

Phanariots Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupie ...

. There, he first studied art with a local painter named Nicolae. His talent attracted attention so, in 1789, with the support of

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

Voivode of Wallachia This is a list of princes of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, led to the creation of ...

, he was able to go to Vienna to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts. There, he studied with Heinrich Friedrich Füger, Johann Baptist Lampi and Hubert Maurer. This was his first major exposure to

Western art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period bet ...

. Later, he would successfully incorporate perspective and

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

into traditional icon painting. As Iași was under Russian occupation during that period, Prince

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

has also been credited as being his patron. This, however, has not been verified. In 1802, he created his first known iconostasis at Banu Church in Iași. It was commissioned by Iacob Stamati (1748-1803), the

Metropolitan of Moldavia The Metropolis of Moldavia and Bucovina, in Iași, Romania, is a Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolis of the Romanian Orthodox Church. History The Metropolis of Moldavia was set up in 1386 and recognized in 1401 by the Ecumenical Pa ...

, who was an admirer of the

Russian Enlightenment The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences, which had a profound impact on Russian culture. During this time, the first Russian unive ...

. Some of his best-known iconostases were those created for Saint Spyridon Church in 1813, one of which depicted an episode in the life of Metropolitan , who had commissioned the work. He also created decorations for the Roman Episcopal Cathedral, at the request of , the Bishop of

Huși Huși (, Yiddish//''Hush'', , German language, German: ''Hussburg'') is a municipiu, city in Vaslui County, Romania, former capital of the disbanded Fălciu County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian O ...

, and produced a few portraits of a non-religious nature; mostly of women. During his last years, he led a painting class at the Princely Academy of Iași. Drakopoulou, 2010, pp 153

Gallery

File:ALTINIS-2.jpg, Saint Nikolas File:ALTINIS-1.jpg, "

Panagia Panagia (, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panayia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, Mother of God, used especially in Orthodox Christianity and E ...

" (Mary and Jesus),
Banu Church, Iași File:Eustatie Altini - Portretul Saftei Costachi Talpan.jpg, Portrait of Safta Costachi Talpan

References

Sources

* Corinne Julien, ''Histoire de l'humanité'', Vol.6,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, 2000 pg.888
Online
* Remus Niculescu, "Altini, Eustatie",

Oxford Art Online Oxford Art Online is an Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2003
Online
)

External links

"Primitivii picturii românești moderne – partea a doua"
@ Arta din România {{DEFAULTSORT:Altini, Eustatie 1770s births 1815 deaths Moldovan painters Icon painters Decorative arts Religious artists Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni People from Zagora, Greece 18th-century Greek painters 19th-century Greek painters Painters from the Ottoman Empire