The iconographer Andreas Ritzos is one of the prominent artists of post-Byzantine painting. Born in Candia
J.H.S. (Jesus Hominum Salvator)
(Herakleion) during the Venetian rule, he painted -icons mainly- at the end of the 15th century. Like most of his contemporary Cretan painters , Ritzos was familiar with both "maniera Greca" (the orthodox way of painting concerning the typology and subjects of the icons) and "maniera Latina" so that he could serve customers of both doctrines (Orthodox and Catholic). Crete, at that time, was an immense iconography workshop, whose production
Virgin of the Passion
was mainly bought by Italian customers. The iconographers were organized in guilds according to western standards and it is not an exageration that there was a -unofficial-, sort of, "trading" of icons active those days, with lively offer and demand. Ritzos' works are distinguished for his in-depth knowledge of painting with elaborate rendering of faces, perspective and details that strongly affect the final result.
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