Nikolaos Lampoudis

Nikolaos Lampoudis
Virgin and Child Hodegetria
Born	15th Century Sparta, Greece
Died	15th Century Sparta, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Known for	painter
Movement	Cretan School, Byzantine art

Nikolaos Lampoudis (Greek: Νικόλαος Λαμπούδης, 15th Century – 15th Century) was a Greek painter active in Sparta and generally the Laconian region during the 15th century. His only known work is a painting of the Virgin and Child in the gesture of the Hodogiatria. The icon resembles similar icons with the inscription Eleousa. He was clearly influenced by and is a member of the early Cretan School or Greek Renaissance. Other Greek artists who painted similar works during the same period were Angelos Akotantos and Andreas Ritzos. The painting style serves as a prototype for the evolution of the Venetian influenced Cretan School. Other Italian artists such as Duccio and Giotto experimented with the transition from the typical Byzantine style to a more refined technique.^[1][2][3][4]

History[]

Lampoudis was born in Sparta. Not much is known about his life. The only existing record is an icon painted during the 15th century. His signature describes his place of origin. Sparta was part of the Despotate of the Morea and fell to the Ottomans in 1460. The last name was associated with the Greek-Byzantine family named Lampoudios.^[5][6]

The name appears throughout Byzantine history from the 11th century until the 15th century. There was a famous scribe by the name Matthew Sebastos Lampoudes from the Péloponnèse region, possibly Spartan. The earliest known record of the Lampoudes name in Crete was 1562–1563. Records exist regarding Kyriakos Lampoudes.^[7][8]

Lampoudis's technique is the Greek-Byzantine technique prevalent in Thessaloniki, Constantinople, and Crete. Angelos Akotantos's and Andreas Ritzos's paintings served as the prototype of the maniera greca and the Greek Renaissance or Cretan School. Lampoudis appears at the end of the Byzantine art movement and the beginning of the Greek Renaissance.^[9][10]

The Lampoudis painting has been preserved for over six hundred years. The icon is in a private collection in Athens, it previously belonged to a collector in Rome. The icon's dimensions are 0.67 X 0.47 X 0.02 meter or 2.2 X 1.54 X 0.07 feet and is painted on wood that forms a relief frame.^[11][12]

The painting was bought at an auction in London. It belonged to an Italian family for three generations. In 1981, it was preserved by Rodolfo Lujan. He fixed the wood and painting. He also cleaned it in a special laboratory. In 1984, the Byzantine Museum in Athens proved the authenticity of the signature. His signature was ΧΕΙΡ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΛΑΜΠΟΥΔΗ, ΣΠAPTIATOY^[13]

See also[]

• Emmanuel Lambardos
• Georgios Kalliergis

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Hatzidakis, Manolis (1987). Greek painters after the fall (1450-1830) Volume A. Athens, GR: Center for Modern Greek Studies E.I.E.
• Hatzidakis, Manolis & Drakopoulou, Eugenia (1997). Greek painters after the fall (1450-1830) Volume B. Athens, GR: Center for Modern Greek Studies E.I.E.
• Drakopoulou, Eugenia (2010). Greek painters after the fall (1450-1830) Volume C. Athens, GR: Center for Modern Greek Studies E.I.E.