Experts may have finally solved a centuries-old mystery surrounding the identity of "Manuel Panselinos," a renowned Byzantine painter celebrated for blending spirituality with humanity in Orthodox religious art. New research suggests Panselinos was a nickname for Ioannis Astrapas, a 14th-century artist from Thessaloniki. Using forensic handwriting analysis, scholars linked Astrapas’s script in a Paris manuscript to fresco inscriptions in Mount Athos’s Protato Church, long attributed to Panselinos. The findings shed light on a pivotal figure in Byzantine art, whose work harmonized ancient classical techniques with Orthodox traditions.
