The Apocalypse, the Vision of John

According to the inscription on the unrolled scroll by the Saint's right leg, the Cretan scholar Nikephoros Chartophylax, vicar and later abbot that later became a bishop of Laodicea, donated the icon. The epigram, composed by him, informs us about his decision to have a faithful copy of Thomas Vathas' icon of the Apocalyspe in 1626. The composition is divided in two parts, without any boundary lines, and depicts the Vision of John as is described in the beginning of the text of the Apocalypse above, and Saint John the Theologian below. The icon is of similar dimensions with the prototype and exhibits only a few, nonetheless distinctive differences. For example, the position of the sword is correct here, above the right hand and in connection with God's mouth, according to the text: “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword” (Revelation 1.16). Moreover, God rests his feet on two winged wheels with many eyes, a type of angel belonging to the highest Order, called Thrones or Ophanim. Finally, Saint John lies upon the landscape of Patmos, not upon the clouds, and is painted in almost the same scale as Father God. The alterations have rendered a theological and more byzantine character to the icon. The technique used is definitely of Cretan origin and by comparison with other icons we can safely state that the icon was painted on the island by an artist difficult to identify.