Die Panagia-Kirche und die Erzengelkirche in Kakodiki

Hardly any other region in Greece offers such a density of churches with Byzantine frescoes as Crete does. Its almost one thousand painted churches represent about half of the total number of decorated churches in Greece (7th - 15th c.). However, the number of iconographic programs that has been published partly or completely is very small. The primary concern of this present study is to make a contribution to the urgently needed basic research in this subject. Its main objective is the complete publication of the Church of the Panagia, painted by the atelier of Ioannes Pagomenos and dated by the donor's inscription to 1331/2, and the undated Church of the Archangel Michael that was painted by an anonymous atelier. It can be dated as being from before 1370 on the basis of a graffito. Both churches are located in Kakodiki, in the district of Selino in the prefecture of Chania in south-western Crete. Both of them are not only highly interesting monuments in their own right, but also belong to two larger, chronologically successive groups of churches painted by ateliers in each case. Thus the investigation and comparison of their wall paintings leads to far-reaching conclusions about the art historical developments, cultural background as well as the way of working, organization and structure of Byzantine painting ateliers. The perspective chosen in this study takes advantage of the good initial situation with regard to the monuments to hand in order to make them accessible as ideal monuments in the analysis of local ateliers, regional Cretan iconographic tradition and the general development of Byzantine art in the 14th century. At the same time, however, this study has also other important objectives and would like to stimulate the discussion on special aspects which have been scarcely or inadequately treated in research up to now. The Latin occupation of the island and the political and religious conflicts that took place during this period form a particularly fascinating framework in terms of cultural history.