Inventory Number
L2025.01.5
Artist
Emmanuel Lambardos
Title
The Archangel Michael
Object Date
1613
Country of Origin
Greece
Credit Line
On loan from Argie and Emmanuel Tiliakos
Provenance
Keywords
Metric Dims
33 x 27.3 cm
Medium
Egg tempera on wood, gold leaf
This remarkable icon is signed by the celebrated Cretan icon painter, Emmanuel Lambardos (1567-1640).
The Archangel Michael stares past the beholder with an air of dispassionate dignity. Clad in the armor of a Byzantine general with gilded breastplate and purple mantle, the “supreme commander of the heavenly host” is a paragon of Byzantine beauty. A slender waist with pale, blushed flesh, rosy lips, elegantly arched eyebrows and a head of thick curly blonde hair render God’s champion as a dashing young soldier.