Christ Pantokrator

Andreas Ritzos was one of the most important icon painters who worked in Crete during the second half of the 15th century. He seems to have been living permanently in Candia (Heraklion), where he had his workshop with at least three more other painters, and later on his two sons. At Candia, his clientele was of both dogmas, as can be seen from the two types of signatures he used, one in Greek and one in Latin. Only eleven signed works of Ritzos survive today, but many others are attributed to him. The attribution of an icon to Ritzos cannot be safe, since he seems to have been famous at his time and his work must have served as a prototype not only for his contemporary artists, his sons and the members of his workshop, but for many generations of Cretan painters. The two icons of Patmos, the Christ Pantokrator and the Virgin Pantanassa, are the biggest and most imposing of his known works.

Due to the poor condition of the icon and the decomposition of the wood, the layer of painting along with its canvas was transferred onto a new canvas with an appropriate frame in 1957. Christ, enthroned, is dressed in a dark red tunic decorated with a golden clavus, and in a mantle of dark green. The wooden throne is depicted in the traditional shape and is adorned with dense chrysographies, precious stones and pearls. Christ rests his feet on a red cushion of precious Venetian material, placed on a footstool stylistically similar to the throne. He is blessing with his right hand and holds in his left an open book with a passage from Matthew, 11.28-29. At the height of his head are depicted, in bust and in small scale, the Virgin in veneration and Saint John the Theologian holding a book with the text of John 1.1, a reference to the idea of Deesis. The execution of the nude parts of the figures (face, hands and feet) has been performed with utmost care, according to the Palaeologan technique of lights of double width on the warm ochre flesh. The tone transitions are very soft and the contrasts between the bare parts and the undermodelling are not strong. The shadow cast by the nose down to the right chin, while its straight boundary is set by a long, white bright line, could be considered as a characteristic feature of Andreas Ritzos’ technique. The artist’s signature is visible on both sides of Christ’s footstool, in black capital letters: ΧΕΙΡ ΑΝΔΡΕΟΥ ΡΙΤΖΟΥ.