Painting in 18th-Century Mani: Continuities and Transformations

The paper explores the church painting of eighteenth-century Mani, a peninsula in southern Peloponnese, focusing on issues of continuity and transformation within the broader Post-Byzantine artistic tradition. Drawing on research from our doctoral dissertation on Panagiotis Klirodetis’ workshop, whose members were active in Mani during this period, the study identifies an eclectic visual language that combines Byzantine heritage with diverse external influences. Expanding beyond this workshop, the research examines both mural and icon painting in Mani, addressing iconographic programs, stylistic features, and sources of inspiration. The iconographic cycle, shaped by the liturgical calendar, incorporates scenes of martyrdoms, hymns to the Virgin, and depictions of the Last Judgment, reflecting the moral and didactic role of the Church during Ottoman rule, a role aligned with the ideals of the Greek Enlightenment. Iconographic and stylistic analysis reveals connections with Middle Byzantine and Palaiologan traditions, as well as with the earlier Post-Byzantine painting tradition (16th–17th c.), among others with the Cretan school and that of North-Western Greece. At the same time, borrowings from painters from the Ionian Islands, as well as from Flemish and other western engravings are evident. Ultimately, eighteenth-century church painting in Mani emerges as a dynamic dialogue between tradition and innovation, leaving a distinctive imprint on the history of Post-Byzantine art.