Emmanuel Tzanes

Tzanes was born in Rethymno, Crete. He became a priest sometime before 1637. He fled Crete around 1646 because Rethymno was conquered by the Ottomans. He first traveled to Corfu. He remained there for eight years. He painted numerous icons and collaborated with Philotheos Skoufos. In early 1655, he traveled to Venice where he remained for the rest of his life. In March 1655, he submitted an application to become the priest of San Giorgio dei Greci and offered to paint the church for free. His application was denied. Philotheos Skoufos was the priest at the church. Eventually, in 1660 Tzanes was elected the parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Church San Giorgio dei Greci. He replaced Philotheos Skoufos. Tzanes served for 20 years. He married 26 people between 1660 and 1689.[6] He was also the supervisor at the Flanginian School of the Greek Confraternity in Venice.[7]

Emmanuel's career spanned over 60 years. One hundred thirty works are dated between 1636 and 1689. His paintings differ in size shape and style ranging from small icons and triptychs. He also completed monumental paintings and sanctuary doors. He followed the rules and styles of the Cretan School which he studied in Rethymno. He also heavily influenced the Heptanese School. His clients were both Catholic and Greek Orthodox. He frequently included his patrons in his paintings and also dated his works. He regularly painted Saint Alypios the Stylite, Saint Govdelaas the Persian, and Saint Demetrios on Horseback. He also painted many icons of the Virgin and Christ enthroned. His painting of Saint Spyridon is of Monumental size. His brother Konstantinos Tzanes was an active painter and lived in Venice with him.[8][9]

• 
  Portrait of Jesus
• 
  Virgin and Child
• 
  Virgin and Child
• 
  Lamentation
• 
  St.George killing the dragon
• 
  St.Mark the Evangelist
• 
  Nicholas
• 
  Christ enthroned
• 
  Theodora
• 
  Saint Cyrille
• 
  Ladder of Divine Ascent
• 
  Miracle of Cincture
• 
  John Baptist
• 
  Lamentation of Christ

• Satisfaction is beneficial for every Christian (In Greek)
• Sequence of the holy great martyr Fotini of Samaritan, or Christ spoke in the well (In Greek)
• Narration with lyrics of the terrible war that took place on the island of Crete (In Greek)

• Greek scholars in the Renaissance
• Georgios Klontzas
• Theodore Poulakis
• Manolis Hatzidakis

• Tselenti-Papadopoulou, Niki G. (2002). Οι Εικονες της Ελληνικης Αδελφοτητας της Βενετιας απο το 16ο εως το Πρωτο Μισο του 20ου Αιωνα: Αρχειακη Τεκμηριωση [The Icons of the Greek Brotherhood of Venice from 1600 to First Half of the 20th Century]. Athens: Ministry of Culture Publication of the Archaeological Bulletin No. 81. ISBN 960-214-221-9.
• Hatzidakis, Manolis; Drakopoulou, Evgenia (1997). Έλληνες Ζωγράφοι μετά την Άλωση (1450-1830). Τόμος 2: Καβαλλάρος - Ψαθόπουλος [Greek Painters after the Fall of Constantinople (1450-1830). Volume 2: Kavallaros - Psathopoulos]. Athens: Center for Modern Greek Studies, National Research Foundation. hdl:10442/14088. ISBN 960-7916-00-X.