Icon: Ascension of Christ with the Hetoimasia

Andreas Ritzos

c. 1422 - ?

Icon: Ascension of Christ with the Hetoimasia

Tempera on panel71 x 47.5 cm
Signed lower right
P.1973-4

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This icon is a typical example of the 15th century Cretan-Venetian school which grew from the tradition of Byzantine court painting. One of the best extant works by Andreas Ritzos, the painting shows the Ascension of Christ in the center with the "Hetoimasia," or empty throne that symbolizes God, above it. Ritzos has placed the Holy Trinity and the Feast of Abraham at the top of the composition, standing portraits of saints to the right and left of the central image, and the Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen in the lower section.

(Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)