The Balpis Expansion of the Technical Part of the Hermeneia Painting Manual by Dionysius of Fourna

Painting manuals with technical and iconographical prescriptions served the needs of Greek icon painters during the post-Byzantine period. The circa 1730 CE Hermeneia of the art of painting was compiled by the hieromonk and icon painter Dionysius and is regarded as the most comprehensive pertinent Greek text. Dionysius' Hermeneia was widely circulating among icon painters in the form of hand-written copies, many of which survive today. Most of these Hermeneia manuscripts are near-facsimiles of the Dionysius prototype text. Yet, two copies made by Father Ioannis Balpis, a Cretan icon painter, in 1782-83 CE offer an important expansion of the technical part. Here, the authors present the first ever translation of the hitherto unpublished Balpis' Hermeneia technical additions that offer unique new insights into the materials and techniques of post-Byzantine painting. Moreover, through the critical evaluation of the Balpis additions, it is shown that the Dionysius technical part is by no means an exhaustive account of its contemporary technical knowledge.