21 Heptanese School (painting)

The Heptanese School of painting succeeded the Cretan School as the leading school of Greek post-Byzantine painting after Crete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence, and also saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in the Ionian Islands, which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century.

Demetrios Nomikos was a Greek painter, goldsmith, and priest. He shared the same last name with other famous Greek painters. Georgios Nomikos, Demetrios Nomikos and his brother Nicholas Nomikos. He is one of the early representatives of the Heptanese School of painting. He was active during the Greek Baroque and Rococo. He worked with notable Greek painter Antonios Notaras. Konstantinos Kontarinis, Stylianos Stavrakis and Nikolaos Kallergis were active on the same islands around the same period. Nomikos was a master gilder. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, five of his works survived. His most notable works are at the Loverdos Museum.

Nikolaos Doxaras. He was a Greek painter and teacher. His father was famous painter Panagiotis Doxaras. Panagiotis Doxaras was the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art. They are both prominent members of the Heptanese School. They refined Greek art bringing the Maniera Greca into the Maniera Italiana. Artists he influenced include: Nikolaos Kantounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis and Gerasimos Pitsamanos. His influence can be seen in some of Nikolaos Kantounis's paintings notably The Assumption. Nikolaos taught famous painter Nikolaos Koutouzis. Both Nikolaos Koutouzis and Doxaras artistic style refined the art of the Ionian Islands. Venetian painting influenced countless Greek artists who were living in the empire. From Michael Damaskinos to Theodore Poulakis. Twenty years after Nikolaos's death the style came to an end due to the Fall of the Republic of Venice. A new artistic style developed after the Greek Rococo which coincided with Neoclassicism in the rest of Europe called the middle Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos.

Panagiotis Doxaras (1662–1729) also known as Panayiotis Doxaras, was an author and painter. He was a prolific member of the Heptanese School. He was influenced by early members of the movement namely: Elias Moskos, Theodoros Poulakis, Stephanos Tzangarolas, Spyridon Sperantzas and Victor. The Heptanese School evolved during the Baroque period and continued into the Late Baroque or Rococo. Doxaras’s son Nikolaos Doxaras continued the artistic movement into the Neoclassical era. Both Panagiotis and his son Nikolaos Doxaras refined the school. The school was heavily influenced by the Venetian Style. The Heptanese School also influenced Italian painting. Other artists Doxaras influenced were Nikolaos Kantounis. Panagioti’s teacher was famous painter Leos Moskos. He studied with him while he was in Venice. Doxaras painted notable portraits of Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg. He introduced Maniera Italiana to the Heptanese School drastically changing the style from the Maniera Greca. He is considered the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art..

Efstathios Karousos also known as Eustathios Karousos, Efstathio Karousou (Greek: Ευστάθιο Καρουσου, Eustacchio Caruso and Eustachio Caruso. He was a Greek painter and writer. He is one of the elite painters from the island of Cephalonia. Other painters from the same region around the same period included Andreas Karantinos and Gerasimos Pitsamanos. He was active in Cephalonia, Naples, Trieste, and other parts of Italy. Some of his paintings have survived. He is one of few Greek painters to have worked and lived outside of the Venetian Empire. Both Karousos and Belisario Corenzio were active painters in Naples. Some of his work emulated the typical Heptanese School. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, forty-nine of his works survived. Thirty-eight of his works are in the church Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci.

Angelos Giallinas was a Greek landscape painter, known primarily for his watercolors. He was one of the last representatives of the Heptanese School of art.

Ioanni Korai was a Greek painter that shared the same name as his famous uncle Ioannis Korais. He was a prominent painter on the Ionian Islands. His family migrated to Zakynthos from Chios. He was a member of the Heptanese School. His contemporaries were Dionysios Kallivokas and Nikolaos Koutouzis. He was taught painting by Ioannis Korais. He was active during the Modern Greek Enlightenment and Greek romanticism in art. He influenced countless Greek and Italian painters. Korai brought Greek artwork into the Modern Greek art period. Twelve of his paintings survived. His most notable painting is a portrait of Kyriakos Chorafas painted in 1826. The painting is at the National Gallery of Athens.

Nikolaos Kallergis, also known as Kalergis. He was a Greek painter during the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos. His art also exhibited Venetian influence. Painters of the maniera greca began to refine their art. Philotheos Skoufos, Elias Moskos, and Theodore Poulakis were all active painters on the Ionian Islands prior to Kallergis. They set the stage for the transition to the Heptanese School. Panagiotis Doxaras is the forefather of the new painting style. He was the father of Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in painting. Kallergis became an active member of the school. Kallergis also represents the Greek Rococo. His art began to exhibit qualities of Greek and Italian Neoclassicism. His style influenced countless painters. Examples include Nikolaos Kantounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis, Nikolaos Doxaras, Spiridione Roma, and Eustathios Karousos. His most famous work is Christ and Angel it is at the Zakynthos Museum.

Nikolaos Kantounis or Kandounis was a Greek priest, painter and teacher who did not follow the traditional Maniera Greca. His teacher was the famous painter Nikolaos Koutouzis. He began to incorporate the Maniera Italiana into the Heptanese School. Kantounis, Panagiotis Doxaras, Nikolaos Doxaras and Koutouzis were all prolific members of that school. Kantounis was one of the most important painters in the Neoclassical Period in Greece. He was a representative of the middle to late Modern Greek Enlightenment in Greek art. Over 164 of his paintings have survived. He is known for painting many portraits. Some of his works resemble the style of Nikolaos Doxaras. He was also a member of the secret organization for Greek Independence called the Filiki Eteria.

Ioannis Korais was a Greek painter. He was a prominent member of the Heptanese School. His contemporaries were Nikolaos Doxaras and Nikolaos Koutouzis. His family was from the island of Chios. He was the grandson of the painter Michael Korais from Chios. He helped revolutionize Greek painting. He was a follower of Panagiotis Doxaras and the new techniques he was employing.

Nikolaos Koutouzis, or Koutousis was a Greek painter, poet and priest. He was part of the Heptanese School, but also a member of the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art. His teacher was the painter Nikolaos Doxaras. Koutouzis has 136 paintings attributed to him. He was one of the last Greek painters to incorporate the Venetian style during its decline, due to the Fall of the Republic of Venice. He was the teacher of Nikolaos Kantounis, who was heavily influenced by his style.

Charalambos Pachis was a Greek painter of the Heptanese school who specialized in landscapes and historical scenes.

Gerasimos Pitsamanos or Pitzamanos was a Greek architect and portrait painter. Most of his known works are watercolors.

Spyridon Prosalentis was a Greek portrait painter of the Heptanese School. His first name is sometimes seen as Spyros.

Spyridon Sperantzas was a Greek painter. He flourished during the Greek Neoclassical era and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos. Because of the Fall of the Republic of Venice, Sperantzas brought the Heptanese School into the Greek Romantic period. By the 1800s the Ionian Islands were occupied by both French and English forces and for the first time since the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the local Greeks governed themselves. Sperantzas, Nikolaos Kantounis, and Nikolaos Koutouzis represent the transition in painting that defined Modern Greek art. Sperantzas was influenced by Nikolaos Kallergis, Nikolaos Doxaras, and Nikolaos Koutouzis. His son Michael Sperantzas was also a famous painter and his apprentice. Spyridon also painted frescos.

Demetrios Stavrakis, also known as the so-called Romanos. He was a Greek painter. He was a representative of the Heptanese School. His uncles were famous painters Andreas Stavrakis and Stylianos Stavrakis. They were active on the island of Zakynthos. There were many Greek painters on the island around the same period namely Nikolaos Koutouzis, Nikolaos Kantounis, and Ioannis Korais. Demetrios influenced both Greek and Italian artists. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, fifteen of his works survived. His most notable work was the Profit Jonah.

Stylianos Stavrakis, was a Greek painter during the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment era in art. He was a goldsmith and painter. He was very active on the Ionian Islands. Nikolaos Koutouzis, Nikolaos Doxaras and Nikolaos Kallergis were all active in Zakynthos during the same period. He is a prominent member of the coveted Heptanese painting style. He comes from a family of painters. His brother Andreas Stavrakis and nephew Demetrios Stavrakis were both famous painters. He influenced countless artists. Konstantinos Kontarinis and other artists of the Ionian Islands began to emulate his work. His most notable work is the Descent from the Cross. Fourteen of his paintings survived. Most of them can be found in Zakynthos, Greece.

Stylianos Devaris, also known as Defaris and Kornaros respectively. He was a Greek painter and goldsmith. He was one of the prominent painters from the island of Lefkada. He was a member of the Heptanese School. The island featured many painters namely: Konstantinos Kontarinis, Spyridon Ventouras, Spyridon Maratzos, and Makarios Lefkas. A notable theme popular on the island was John Chrysostom, Criticizing Empress Eudoxia. Stylianos painted his own version of the theme. Spyridon Ventouras and Makarios Lefkas also painted their versions. Devaris mainly painted ecclesiastical themes. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, over nineteen of his paintings have survived. His most notable work was John Chrysostom, Criticizing Empress Eudoxia.

Dionysios Tsokos was a Greek painter; one of the first to gain recognition in the post-Ottoman period. He is mostly known for portraits and historical scenes which combine elements from the Heptanese School with Italian styles.

Stephanos Tzangarolas also known as Stephano Tzangarola. He was a Greek painter during the late Cretan Renaissance. He migrated from Crete to the island of Corfu. He is a member of the Heptanese School and the Cretan Renaissance. His contemporaries at the time were Panagiotis Doxaras, Theodore Poulakis and Elias Moskos. His artwork began to reflect the transition of the classical maniera greca of Crete to the more refined style of the Ionian Islands. His style resembles the transition of Gentile da Fabriano and Fra Angelico from the maniera greca to their respective styles. Tzangarolas paintings influenced countless artists both Italian and Greek. Some artists that reflect his style include Spyridon Sperantzas and Georgios Kastrofylakas. His paintings can be found all over Greece mainly Athens and the Ionian Islands. Some of his work is in Cairo and London. His student was famous Greek painter Andreas Karantinos.

Spyridon Ventouras also known as Spyridon Venturas. He was a Greek painter, professor and architect. He was a prominent member of the Heptanese School. He represented the art of Lefkada. Many Greek painters were associated with the island namely: Konstantinos Kontarinis, Stylianos Devaris, Spyridon Maratzos, and Makarios Lefkas. Other active painters of the Heptanese School during the same period were Nikolaos Koutouzis and Nikolaos Kantounis. The Greek community was undergoing the Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos in art. Ventouras influenced countless artists both Greek and Italian. The painting of John Chrysostom, Criticizing Empress Eudoxia was copied by many painters from the region. Some of the artists were Makarios Lefkas and Stylianos Devaris. Ventouras also painted his own version. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, over sixty of his paintings have survived, five of them were notable portraits. His most notable work was a Portrait of Ali Paschi.