Transfiguration and Monastic Scenes (Klontzas)

Transfiguration and Monastic Scenes is a multi-themed tempera painting created by Greek painter Georgios Klontzas. Klontzas was a Cretan Renaissance painter. The artist was hired to assess work completed by El Greco. Klontzas was from a wealthy family and owned a successful workshop in the center of Crete. His existing catalog consists of Fifty-four works. He completed incredible triptychs and manuscripts. Klontzas and Michael Damaskinos are two of the most prominent Greek painters of the 16th century due to the size of their catalogs and the popularity of their works, excluding El Greco.

Saint Catherine's monastery at Mount Sinai is one of the most sacred religious places in the world. The site encloses where it is assumed by Christians that Moses saw the burning bush. It is one of the oldest surviving Orthodox Monasteries erected during the time of Justinian. The monastery was named after Catherine of Alexandria. Countless painters have painted the sacred place. Scottish painter David Roberts extensively used the theme in his detailed lithograph prints of Egypt. El Greco also painted the sacred monastery in the back of the Modena Triptych. Iakovos Moskos and Michael Damaskinos are two Greek painters that also included the sacred theme in their works. Transfiguration and Monastic Scenes takes place at the holy monastery. The work of art is part of the collection of Saint Catherine's Monastery in Mount Sinai, Egypt.