Michael Fokas | |
|---|---|
.png) Blue Madonna, similar to the icons produced in quantity by the Fokas workshop | |
| Born | 1473 |
| Died | 1504 |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Known for | Mass Producing Greek Icons in the 1500s |
| Movement | Cretan School |
| Spouses |
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| Patron(s) | Giorgio Basejo and Petro Varsama |
| Occupation | Painter |
| Years active | 1478–1504 |
| Era | Greek Renaissance |
| Style | Maniera Greca |
Michael Fokas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Φωκάς, 1473-1504), also known as Migiel Fuca, was a Greek icon painter and art instructor. He came from a prominent family of painters, the founders of the Cretan School; working in this style, Fokas's workshop mass-produced icons for Greek and Italian clients. No surviving painting bears Fokas's signature, but history has preserved a commission for 200 icons which he received on July 4, 1499. This important document charges Fokas to produce works based upon the prototype Madre della Consolazione, originally created by Nikolaos Tzafouris and modeled after Giovanni Bellini.[1][2][3][4]
Fokas's coworkers were Antonios Tajiaperas, Nikolaos Gripiotis, and Georgios Mitsoconstantinos. His grand uncle was Manuel Fokas, also a prominent icon painter. The family was directly affiliated with another famous exponent of the Cretan School, Andreas Pavias.
- ^ Hatzidakis 1987, pp. 232–233.
- ^ Hatzidakis & Drakopoulou 1997, pp. 452.
- ^ Eugenia Drakopoulou (July 23, 2022). "Fokas Manuel". Institute for Neohellenic Research. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- ^ Voulgaropoulou 2020, pp. 213.