The conservation of Emmanuel Tzanes’ Greeting the Myrrh-Bearers has been sponsored by The Diane Apostolos-Cappadona Trust in Memory of Her Grandmother, Constance M. Pappaylion

The Icon Museum of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice preserves one of the most important collections of Orthodox icons in the world. Inherited from the historic Greek Orthodox Confraternity of Venice, the collection reflects centuries of artistic exchange between the Byzantine East and the Venetian West. Standing beside the Church of San Giorgio dei Greci, the museum houses exceptional examples of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting, including works by leading masters of the Cretan School such as Michael Damaskinos, Theodoros Poulakis, and Emmanuel Tzanes. Spanning the 15th to the 18th centuries, the icons allow visitors to trace the evolution of Orthodox art from its Byzantine roots to the richly narrative and visually sophisticated forms that emerged in Venice, making the collection an unparalleled testament to the artistic and spiritual heritage of the Greek community in the city.

Among the highlights of the Icon Museum in Venice is a remarkable cycle of five icons by Emmanuel Tzanes, one of the foremost painters of the 17th-century Greek diaspora. Commissioned in the early 1680s by Andrea Chalichiopulos of Rethymno and donated to the Greek Confraternity in 1698 by his widow, Maria Cagianni, the series depicts five episodes from the life of Christ: The Healing of the Paralytic, The Healing of the Blind Man, Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, The Incredulity of Thomas, and The Greeting of the Myrrh-Bearers. Together, these icons illustrate the Gospel readings for the five Sundays between Easter and Ascension, transforming the liturgical calendar into a sequence of vivid narrative scenes. Two of these masterpieces—Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well and The Greeting of the Myrrh-Bearers—are in urgent need of conservation treatment.

Born in Crete and trained in the rich artistic traditions of the post-Byzantine world, Emmanuel Tzanes spent the most accomplished years of his career in Venice, where he emerged as one of the leading painters of the Greek community. After leaving Crete following the Ottoman conquest of Rethymno in 1646, he worked briefly in Corfu before settling permanently in Venice by 1658. Deeply embedded in the city’s Greek Orthodox community, Tzanes served as parish priest of San Giorgio dei Greci while pursuing a distinguished career as a painter, poet, and composer of religious hymns. His art reflects a masterful synthesis of the spiritual intensity of the Cretan School with the narrative richness and pictorial sophistication of 17th-century Venetian painting.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Myrrh-bearers (Myrophoroi in Greek) are the devoted followers of Christ who assisted in his burial and became the first witnesses to the miracle of the Resurrection. The term most commonly refers to the women who came to Christ’s tomb at dawn carrying myrrh and other precious oils to anoint his body, only to discover the empty tomb. Also counted among the Myrrh-bearers are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who took Christ down from the cross, prepared his body with myrrh and aloes, wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid it in a new tomb. Their devotion and fidelity at the darkest moment of the Passion earned them a special place in Christian memory and tradition. For this reason, the Myrrh-bearers—especially Mary Magdalene—are honored in the Eastern Church as Isapostoloi, that is “Equal to the Apostles”.

Tzanes’s ingenious treatment of the subject seamlessly combines the appearance of the resurrected Christ with the narrative episodes surrounding the Myrrh-bearers. At the center of the composition stands Christ, his wounds exposed and his outstretched pose recalling the Crucifixion, while his radiant golden robes proclaim his divine and glorified nature. He is flanked by the Virgin on the left and Mary Magdalene on the right, both shown kneeled in reverent contemplation. Set within caves carved into the rocky mountains on either side of the scene, Tzanes unfolds two key moments of the Passion and Resurrection narrative. To the left, beneath the hill of Golgotha, where Christ’s cross now stands empty, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepare Christ’s body for burial alongside the mourning women. To the right, the Virgin and Mary Magdalene arrive at the empty tomb, where an angel announces the Resurrection.

Tzanes presents multiple moments of the sacred story within a single landscape, inviting the viewer to move visually and spiritually through the events of the Passion, culminating in the revelation of the risen Christ at the center. The result is a composition that combines the theological clarity of the Byzantine icon with the narrative richness and spatial imagination of 17th-century Venetian art.

The icon is affected by a pronounced split running with the grain near the center of the panel, resulting in a major structural crack that extends through both the ground and paint layers. Surface soiling, including dust, atmospheric particulates, and greasy residues, is evident across the painted surface, with heavier accumulations in recessed areas and along the crack. The gilding exhibits widespread wear and abrasion, particularly in exposed areas affected by handling and previous interventions. Scattered losses of the ground and paint layers are present throughout the icon, especially along the margins, adjacent to the structural crack, and in areas subject to mechanical stress.

Emmanuel Tzanes (ca. 1610 – 1690)
Geeting the Myrrh-bearers
1680s, oil on panel, gilding
81 x 64 cm

Bandera Viani, Maria Cristina. Venezia. Museo delle Icone Bizantine e post Bizantine e Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Greci. Bologna: Edizioni Calderini, 1988, pp. 48 no. 60, 52 no. 71

Chatzidakis, Manolis. Icônes de Saint-George des Grecs et de la Collection de l’Istitut. Venice: Neri Pozza, 1962, pp. 136-139 nos. 115, 157 no. 148

Kazanaki-Lappa, Marina. Arte bizantina e postbizantina a Venezia. Museo di icone dell’Istituto di studi bizantini e postbizantini a Venezia. Villorba (TV): Eurocromlibri Zanotto Editore, 2009, pp. 167-169

Costantoudaki-Kitromilides, Maria. Tzanes, Emmanuel. In Speake, Graham (ed.). Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition. 2 vols, London-Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000, vol. II (L-Z), pp. 1681-1682