14/11/2006
Portable icons

Triantaphyllos Sioulis © Ioannina Prefecture

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To date a great number of portable icons have been located that beat the names of the Kapesovo hagiographers. We shall certainly be able to classify these under the post Byzantine art in Epirus.
We shall indicatively refer to a certain number. At the church of the Repose of the Virgin Mary in Kapesovo, Nikolaos painted the icon of Christ as the Supreme High Priest (1730). On the icon of Aghios Ioannis o Prodromos at the Monastery of Rongovo, we read in the inscription: «With the supplications of the Servant of God Ioannis / the son of Athanasios the Kapesovo hagio / grapher has dedicated this to the holy mona / stery of Aghios Io(annis) at Rongovon for the / benefit of the soul. In the year 1774 / March 8th»
From inscriptions on the Despotic icons at the church of the Repose of the Virgin Mary in Makrino, where the hagiography was carried out by Ioannis and his son Anastasios in 1792; we have been informed that these were produced in 1781 by the Kapesovo hagiographer Ioannis. Beside one of these is also depicted the donor of the icons Stergios Demetrios, from Makrino. More specifically, in the icon of Christ in the south aisle of the church we read: «STERGIOS / DEMETRIOU, / THE FOUNDER OF THE / holy / icons / from the region / of Makri / nou», whilst in another icon of Christ on the north aisle of the church, we read: «THE PRESENT WERE PRODUCED (THE) DESPOTIKA / IN THE YEAR 1781 UNDER T(HE) BISHOPRIC OF THE VERY / REVEREND MAKARIOS. UNDER THE ABBOT / MR. MATTHAIOS THE REVEREND MONK / THROUGH THE DONATIONS OF MR. STERGIOS / BY THE HAND OF IOANNIS FROM KAPE / SOVO IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER: ~».
In the adjacent church of the Aghioi Apostoloi at Makrino on the Despotic icon of the Aghioi Apostoloi, who bear their names inside the light haloes and which has been inscribed: «THE ASSEMBLY OF THE TWELVE HOLY APOSTLES», we read the inscription: «created by Ioannis son of Anastasios / from Kapesovo in 1782 / April 10th». Furthermore on the Despotic icon of the Virgin Mary the Galaktotrophousa with the name «I SPELAIOT (Ι) SΑ» we read the inscription: «by the hand of Ioannis». Certainly, this must be the work of the same hagiographer. More specifically in the second icon, of the Spelaiotissa, we have verified that Ioannis used as a master sketch something akin to that published in the Giannoulis collection at Volos (number 66).
At a neighbouring village, at the church of the Repose of the Virgin Mary in Grevenition, on the icon of the Virgin Mary beside the Oraia Pyle read: «I Portaitisa ton Ibiron» and «THE PRESENT ICONS WERE CREATED IN 1768 / IN THE MONTH OF / MARCH / 28 / at the labour and expense / by the most reverend / Mr Nikephoros from Iberon / the late abbot / by the hand of Ioannis / Athanasiou from Kape / sovo» and on the icon of the Repose of the Virgin Mary «In the year of Christ 1774 July 25th / by the hand of the humble Athanasios monk and Ioannis / his son from Kapesovo».
Anagnostes Oikonomou painted the icon of Aghios Georgios at the church of Aghios Georgios at Papingo (1776) and at the Monastery of Molybdoskepaste (1801). Ioannis Bongas painted the icon of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel at the church of Aghios Athanasios at Monodendri (1812) and the icon of the Repose of the Virgin Mary at the Abel Monastery Bessane at Pogoni (1818). Nikolaos Anagnostes painted the Repose of the Virgin Mary at the church of Aghios Nikolaos at Bessane (1818), whilst Konstantinos Oikonomou painted the icon on the iconostasis at the main church of Koukoulion (1812) and three icons at the church of the Taxiarches at Mikro Papingo.
Assuredly, the continual investigation shall also uncover other comparable works by the Kapesovo artists, since their reputation and their range during the specific period was both great and wide.
At this juncture it is worth noting that investigation had not located to date a secular work with the name of a Kapesovo hagiographer. More specifically, in relation to the region of Zagorion we can say that we have numerous works in the residences, but all with the names of the Chionades painters.
On the contrary, they undertook to cover the iconostases in gold leaf. The example of Athanasios the monk and his sons Ioannis and Georgios in 1779 gold leafed the iconostasis in the catholicon of the Tsouka Monastery at Hellenikon, and at the church of Aghios Demetrios at Zeloba in 1795, whilst Ioannis with his son Anastasios Anagnostes gold leafed the iconostasis for the church of Aghios Nikolaos at Kapesovo in 1793 and gold leafed the haloes of the saints in the catholicon of the Monastery at Zagoriane.