General view of Mount Athos
The engraving is a general view of Mount Athos, depicting simultaneously the Western and the Eastern part of the peninsula. As the site has numerous holy institutions with miraculous icons and other ancient artifacts to present it has attracted the interest of the pilgrims.
The general view of Mount Athos is considered among the popular themes of the Mount Athos print-making, as it is repeated by foreign and Greek engravers during the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the bilingual (Greek and Slavonic-Serbian) inscription, this specific engraving was sponsored by Gabriel, hieromonk of the Vatopaidion monastery, in Vienna in May 1767. The engraver is not known. In the scene, Mount Athos is represented in the sunset; the monasteries can be identified by their inscriptions place in oval frames. Sketes and monastic cells are also shown, along with rivers reaching the sea, boats sailing in the sea, monks fishing and sea monsters emerging from the water.
Code
ΒΧει 248
Type
Engraving
Chronology
1767
Dimensions
Height 57 cm; length 81 cm
Material of Construction
Paper
Origin
Nicholaos Garilidis donation