Noah's Ark (Poulakis)

Noah's Ark
Greek: Η Κιβωτός του Νώε,
Italian: Arca di Noè
ArtistTheodore Poulakis
Yearc. 1635-1692
Mediumtempera on wood
MovementHeptanese School
SubjectNoah's Ark
Dimensions81 cm × 63 cm (31.9 in × 25 in)
LocationHellenic Institute of Venice, Venice, Italy
OwnerHellenic Institute of Venice
WebsiteOfficial Website

Noah's Ark is a tempera painting by Theodore Poulakis. Poulakis was a Greek Baroque painter and teacher. He was a member of both the Late Cretan School and the Heptanese School. He is often regarded as the father of the Heptanese School. He was active from 1635 to 1692. By the age of 24, he was living in Venice. He stayed in the city for thirteen years. He was involved in local politics. He frequently traveled all over the Ionian Islands and settled in Corfu. He also regularly returned to Venice. Over 130 of his paintings have survived and can be found all over the world.[1]

Greek painters followed the traditional maniera greca. Their art was heavily influenced by Venetian painting. Another important characteristic in Greek art during the Baroque and Rococo periods was the migration to engravings. Some painters used Italian, Dutch, and Flemish engravings as their inspiration. Some of the engravers were Cornelis Cort, Adriaen Collaert, Hieronymus Wierix, Jan Wierix, Hendrick Goltzius, and Francesco Villamena. Noah's Ark was influenced by an engraving of Jan Sadeler. Two other notable engravers from the same family were Raphael Sadeler I, and Aegidius Sadeler II.[2]

Noah's Ark was an extremely popular theme used by countless artists. A popular version was finished by Flemish painter Maerten de Vos. Sadeler used the painting as a prototype for one of his popular engravings entitled Noah's Ark. Poulakis used the engraving as a model for his version of Noah's Ark. Sadeler and his family moved to Venice from Antwerp. They had an active workshop during the later part of the 16th century and the early 17th century. Many Greek and Italian painters were exposed to their work. Sadeler brought Flemish art to the Greek and Italian world of painting. Konstantinos Tzanes's painting Mary Magdalene used one of Sadeler's engravings as the model for his work. Tzone's Mary Magdalene and Poulaki's Noah's Ark are part of the collection of the Hellenic Institute of Venice.[3]

  1. ^ 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. pp. 304–317. hdl:10442/14088. ISBN 960-7916-00-X.
  2. ^ Alevizou, Denise C (2018). "Il Danese Paladino in a Late Seventeenth-century Icon by Elias Moskos". Cretica Chronika. Crete, Greece: Cretica Chronica: 110. ISSN 0454-5206.
  3. ^ Eugenia Drakopoulou (February 10, 2022). "Noah's arc". Institute for Neohellenic Research. Retrieved February 10, 2022.