The ‘Interpretation of Painting Art’ and the Western Technological Tradition of the Middle Ages
The ‘Interpretation of Painting Art’ by Hieromonk Dionysios of Fourna, written in the 18th century, was one of the few comprehensive technical painting manuals in the Greek-speaking world. Through it, a systematic effort was made to record materials and painting methods, transferring information, knowledge, and practices from both our Eastern tradition and the Western technological tradition.
The comparative study of the technological section of the ‘Interpretation of Painting Art,’ with three corresponding Western manuals from the medieval and Renaissance periods (Theophilus, On Divers Arts – The Strasburg Manuscript – Cennino Cennini, Il libro dell’ arte), was not only a scientific challenge but also an invitation to a journey of knowledge around the technological methods of painting art from past centuries.
The decoding and correlation of the information from the four manuals raised crucial questions but also led to interesting conclusions, although understanding the included recipes was not an easy task, since many materials, plants, minerals, and chemical elements referred to by the authors are either no longer in use today or are encountered under different names
Dimensions: 14×21 cm
Author: Markozanis Iak. Nikolaos
Editions: ARMOS
Pages: 272, Language: Greek
