gory for the holy table on which the sacrament of the Holy Communion takes place . The newly adopted iconography portrayed God the Father , Christ , and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove .
The last flowering of Byzantine art came with the intellectual wakening of Greek identity in the late 14th century , an identity that had been shunned because of its association with paganism . The works of ancient writers were studied with new fervor in the monasteries , which were the only repositories of many manuscripts of ancient works . The ancient Greek philosophers were studied as prophets who foresaw the existence of the Christian God . Christianity is seen in a teleological manner , as the loss of the city and the empire are only temporary historical events that will eventually change , as Christianity itself will again be triumphant .
Wall fresco icons of the Ancient Greek historian Thucydides and the philosopher Plato as they appear in the Narthex of the church of Prophet Elijah , Siatista , Northern Greece
This awakening of Greek identity again led to a new phenomenon in iconographic representation . Portraits of ancient Greek philosophers , writers , and thinkers were now painted in the manner of icons : on the walls of monastic buildings , on library walls , in mess halls , and common areas other than in the church interiors . The ancient Greek philosophers took their equal place among the Old Testament prophets .
The post-Byzantine icon continued to derive inspiration and energy from the Byzantine prototypes that the artists of Constantinople brought with them to Crete , Rome , Venice , and the other places that offered them refuge . As the inevitable fall of the city became obvious to most contemporaries , many artists and literary men left Constantinople for Rome , Florence , and Venice in the early decades of the 15th century , taking with them manuscripts and priceless works of art . During the following decades , more refugees who escaped the sacking of the city brought with them innumerable icons and manuscript works by the ancient writers from the city ’ s great libraries . Italian artists and literary men collected and studied these ancient manuscripts , which provided the kindling for the intellectual foundations of the nascent Italian Renaissance . The Greek iconographers brought with them the ancient Byzantine techniques of their art . They also found commissions from Catholic patrons , and were instrumental in bridging the Western and the Byzantine stylistic idioms , developing a fusion of the two that arose in 15th century Italy .
Crete had been the refuge of Byzantine artists long before the fall of Constantinople , because it was occupied by Venice from the 14th century , and Venetian patrons had commissioned many icons from Byzantine Cretan iconographers . Besides Italy , Crete also became a primary refuge of the artists who escaped the city . The so-called Cretan School produced considerable masterpieces and many great artists , including Domenico Theotokopoulos , known as El
Page from manuscript with an image of the parable of the Samaritan woman , Greek , 17th century .
The Argie & Emmanuel Tiliakos Collection of Greek Icons 23