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ANTHIMOS ALITZERIDIS (PELOPONNESIAN)
b. 1800, Peloponnese, Greece. d. 1861, Mount Athos. The Epitaph, 1837
For the creation of the copperplate print on linen or antimension Epitaph (1837), Anthimos used the popular theme of the Lamentation of Christ as a central theme, surrounded by smaller images depicting liturgical scenes from the life of Christ. Such a technique was rather canonical and popular at the time and it was based on Byzantine iconographic standards.
Anthimos Alitzerides (Peloponnesian) was a hieromonk who studied and practiced engraving in one of the most prominent copperplate workshops of Mount Athos, at Karies (1836-1874). Such artisans, best known at the time as the “stampers”, could be either monks or laymen who followed the common practices and pictorial themes established during
the third quarter of 18th century at Mount Athos. Anthimos evidently created a number of copperplates but only two antimensia (1837 and 1847).
An antimension is a decorated rectangular religious vestment, usually made of linen, used in lieu of the communion table, either due to a lack of an altar (for open-air liturgical purposes) or wherever an altar is not consecrated (i.e., in a chapel). The author and researcher Doris Papastratos used the term “paper-images” to describe such religious engravings that developed after the establishment of typography and artisan copperplating in Europe (Venice, Paris, Vienna, Kiev, Moscow). During the 18th century and especially after the departure of Turkish troops, the Mount Athos copperplate workshops enveloped their uninterrupted production of “paper-images” until the start of the 20th century.
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