El Greco – The Cretan Years

Nikolaos M. Panagiotakes (1935-1997) held professorial posts at the Universities of Ioannina and Crete, and during the last eight years of his life was Director of the Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini in Venice, Italy.

• Contents: Preface, Nicos Hadjinicolaou; Introduction: education and culture in Venetian Crete; Part I The Story So Far: Prior to 1961; Maistro Menegos; The final Cretan year. Part II New Discoveries: An injunction; Family background; Religious affiliation; Apprenticeship; The Vlastos portrait; A new document; Appendices; Bibliography; Select publications since 1990; Index.

'The first and most obvious contribution of this book is that it comprehensively summarizes all prior scholarship on the problem, not only making available in English what was first published in Greek, but also rereading each and every previously published document, putting them into context in order to extract from them as much information as possible. Second, building on a deep knowledge of every aspect of Cretan economic, social, and intellectual history, Panagiotakes's book offers an exhaustive discussion of such problems as El Greco’s family background, his religious affiliation, and, particularly, his apprenticeship... this elegantly written and translated book unquestionably constitutes an important contribution to one of the most fascinating biographies of the Renaissance.' Sixteenth Century Journal