ΝΕΟΤΕΡΑ ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΤΙΚΑ ΕΡΓΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗ ΔΟΞΑΡΑ

Abstract

Three manuscripts bearing the name of Panagiotis Doxaras (1662-1729) on their title page as the author of the texts they contain are the evidence we have to this day proving that the Greek painter was also a translator of important works on the art of painting. However, if he was the translator of treatises on art, he wasn't necessarily the man who wrote the manuscripts, as was always unquestionably believed. Indeed, comparative studies of the handwriting of the texts in the three manuscripts attributed to him, and comparative studies of these scripts with the way Panagiotis Doxaras wrote and signed (see extant documents found in the State Archives of Lefkada) proved that one of the three manuscripts (the incomplete MS. belonging to the Biblioteca Marciana, Cod. Marc. Gr. IV 50-1117) was not written by his hand. Research and further comparative studies of scripts and scribes proved furthermore, that the man behind the hand which wrote the texts of the specific manuscripts must have been Panagiotis's son, Nikolaos Doxaras (1700/1705-1775). Thus, whilst it seems that the MS. belonging to the Biblioteca Marciana is in fact a copy of a work by Panagiotis Doxaras possibly dated in 1720 and now lost, at the same time, the role of Nikolaos Doxaras in relation to his fathers' works is certainly an important factor to be assessed in future studies.