4.9 St John the Baptist and The Skete of Iviron
19th c., first two decades
Collection of Simonopetra Monastery
Partially coloured engraving
37 x 27.5 cm
Engraved on Mount Athos
Engraver: Unknown
The Baptist is shown full-length and frontal, with large wings. He wears a goatskin and himation, his right hand is raised in a blessing and in his left he holds a cross and scroll. He stands in a landscape between the kyriakon and the kalyvae of the Skete of Iviron, which is dedicated to him. The floral decoration of the border is interrupted in the lower left margin, probably to leave space for the engraver's name, which however is not recorded.
In the period 1804-20 at least 16 works were engraved in the Skete of Iviron by the hieromonk Parthenios of Zakynthos, including representations of the Skete of St Anne, the Skete of Kausokalyvia, and the Nea Skete. The similarities between this work and Parthenios' engravings strongly suggest that this engraving is also chased by his hand. Besides he also commissioned another engraving of the Baptist and the Skete of Iviron, which was made in Venice in 1793.