Saint John the Evangelist1938–197049 1/4 × 27 1/2 × 5 1/2"Paint and varnish on woodGift of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin C. Braman1983.12.101531101308John W. PeratesSculptureCopyright for this work is under review.PortlandPortlandUnited StatesMaineTreasures of Folk Art: Museum of American Folk ArtThree Dimensional WorksPortlandJohn W. Perates was born into a furniture-making family in Amphikleia, Greece, and learned to carve from his grandfather. After immigrating to Portland, Maine, in 1913, Perates found work with a manufacturer of handmade furniture and eventually established his own firm to produce furniture in the Colonial Revival style that was popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. When business was slow, Perates, an intensely religious man, read his Bible or carved ecclesiastical furniture and icons for the local Greek Orthodox church in a vigorous, idiosyncratic style. The church found Perates’s contributions to be too unusual, however, and stored the massive works in its basement, where folk art enthusiasts discovered them after Perates’s death in 1970. Portland’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church now contains a Last Supper and a bishop’s throne carved by Perates.
Perates’s carvings recall the Byzantine style of the artist’s native Greece, which stresses transcendental elongated figures, rich color, gold embellishments, and dramatic architectural framing. Perates specifically followed traditional dictates for the portrayal of holy personages: he labeled each saint with a name, depicted him with traditional symbols, and—most important—showed him in the frontal view that emphasizes eternality and direct engagement with the viewer. By isolating the evangelists in the moment of writing their gospels, Perates dramatized the immediacy of religious experience. Beneath the all-seeing eye of God, Saint John the Evangelist, holding a quill pen, points to the words that begin his gospel. The eagle, John’s customary symbol, arrives from heavenly heights to alight on the gospel. Similarly, in another work in the museum’s collection, Saint Matthew the Evangelist, pen in hand, points to his symbol, the angel who has directed him to write his account. The angel in turn points to the all-seeing eye of God, divine source of all inspiration. Unearthly skin colors—pale blue and green—and elaborate frames carved with non-figurative Byzantine motifs further separate these saints from mundane human existence.
Cheryl Rivers, "Saint John the Evangelist," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 383.
John W. Perates was born in the Greek town of Dardio (renamed Amfiklia in 1915), near the ancient city of Delphi. He learned woodworking skills from his grandfather, who also taught him to read and write. In 1912, when he was only seventeen years old, Perates boarded the S. S. Laura in Athens, arriving in the port of New York on June 1. From there, he made his way to Portland, Maine, where he lived the remainder of his life. Perates was single when he enlisted for the draft in 1917, but was married a year later to Catherine Keenan, an Irish immigrant. In 1919, both of them applied for naturalization. Perates supported the family as a car repairer through at least 1921, before he found employment as a cabinetmaker with the J. F. Crockett Company. Here, he was able to employ his considerable skills in making hardwood furniture. By 1930, even as the country suffered the throes of economic depression, Perates established the J. H. Pratt Company, specializing in reproductions of English and Colonial furniture.
There is little information about the Greek Orthodox community in Portland before 1925, when the parishes were officially recognized by the State of Maine. Shortly after this date, the Portland parish purchased an old church and founded the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church. Beginning around 1938, the artist began his life’s work of creating "furniture for the House of the Lord." He was first commissioned to create a bishop’s throne that was 14 feet high when finished. He then independently began work on an octagonal pulpit carved of walnut and cherry, embellished with panels depicting the four Evangelists and other pivotal religious figures. The artist also carved what is considered his masterwork, a massive altar and altar screen 16 1/2 feet high and containing thirty-nine elaborately embellished relief panels, two hundred angels, and six candlesticks in the form of angels.
These two panels depict Saint Matthew and Saint John, two of the four authors of the Gospels. The carved frames introduce some decorative elements familiar from New England moldings, but the overall flattened scheme within an arched architectural space under the canopy of heaven is similar to carved ivories and other small icons from Eastern orthodoxy. In this faith, John is believed to also be the author of the Book of Revelation, written while he was "in the spirit" and in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. Despite the singularity of his interpretation, Perates retains many conventions of Byzantine icons. Usually carved in relief, rather than as fully dimensional sculptures, each element was canonical and highly symbolic, including personal attribute, pose, and appearance. Saints Matthew and John are thus depicted as old men with white beards. As scribes, each holds a quill pen that he has used to inscribe the book of truth lying upon a writing stand. They are bathed in the light of the all-seeing eye of God as they engage in His work. Perates has further retained the attribute of the "living creature" from Revelation 4:7 associated with each figure: the winged man of Matthew and the Eagle of John. Color also plays a traditional role in such depictions: the gold halos, white faces, blue robes, and purple outer garments represent the radiance of God, his uncreated light, and their human nature glorified by God. Last, the crosses bear the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, referring to God’s assertion in Revelation.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Saint Matthew, 1938–1970, Saint John, 1938–1970" exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgCarved figure in relief of St. John. Figure stands at altar with quill pen in his right hand and left hand placed on manuscript at altar. To right of figure, a large bird sits perched above altar. Located to the right, above St. John, is a eye-like motif. Decorative interior border of leaves creates an arch around St. John. Exterior rectangular border design of winding grapevine.WOOD CARVING19381970 1983 12 1 John W. Perates was born into a furniture-making family in Amphikleia, Greece, and learned to carve from his grandfather. After immigrating to Portland, Maine, in 1913, Perates found work with a manufacturer of handmade furniture and eventually established his own firm to produce furniture in the Colonial Revival style that was popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. When business was slow, Perates, an intensely religious man, read his Bible or carved ecclesiastical furniture and icons for the local Greek Orthodox church in a vigorous, idiosyncratic style. The church found Perates’s contributions to be too unusual, however, and stored the massive works in its basement, where folk art enthusiasts discovered them after Perates’s death in 1970. Portland’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church now contains a Last Supper and a bishop’s throne carved by Perates.
Perates’s carvings recall the Byzantine style of the artist’s native Greece, which stresses transcendental elongated figures, rich color, gold embellishments, and dramatic architectural framing. Perates specifically followed traditional dictates for the portrayal of holy personages: he labeled each saint with a name, depicted him with traditional symbols, and—most important—showed him in the frontal view that emphasizes eternality and direct engagement with the viewer. By isolating the evangelists in the moment of writing their gospels, Perates dramatized the immediacy of religious experience. Beneath the all-seeing eye of God, Saint John the Evangelist, holding a quill pen, points to the words that begin his gospel. The eagle, John’s customary symbol, arrives from heavenly heights to alight on the gospel. Similarly, in another work in the museum’s collection, Saint Matthew the Evangelist, pen in hand, points to his symbol, the angel who has directed him to write his account. The angel in turn points to the all-seeing eye of God, divine source of all inspiration. Unearthly skin colors—pale blue and green—and elaborate frames carved with non-figurative Byzantine motifs further separate these saints from mundane human existence.
Cheryl Rivers, "Saint John the Evangelist," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 383.
John W. Perates was born in the Greek town of Dardio (renamed Amfiklia in 1915), near the ancient city of Delphi. He learned woodworking skills from his grandfather, who also taught him to read and write. In 1912, when he was only seventeen years old, Perates boarded the S. S. Laura in Athens, arriving in the port of New York on June 1. From there, he made his way to Portland, Maine, where he lived the remainder of his life. Perates was single when he enlisted for the draft in 1917, but was married a year later to Catherine Keenan, an Irish immigrant. In 1919, both of them applied for naturalization. Perates supported the family as a car repairer through at least 1921, before he found employment as a cabinetmaker with the J. F. Crockett Company. Here, he was able to employ his considerable skills in making hardwood furniture. By 1930, even as the country suffered the throes of economic depression, Perates established the J. H. Pratt Company, specializing in reproductions of English and Colonial furniture.
There is little information about the Greek Orthodox community in Portland before 1925, when the parishes were officially recognized by the State of Maine. Shortly after this date, the Portland parish purchased an old church and founded the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church. Beginning around 1938, the artist began his life’s work of creating "furniture for the House of the Lord." He was first commissioned to create a bishop’s throne that was 14 feet high when finished. He then independently began work on an octagonal pulpit carved of walnut and cherry, embellished with panels depicting the four Evangelists and other pivotal religious figures. The artist also carved what is considered his masterwork, a massive altar and altar screen 16 1/2 feet high and containing thirty-nine elaborately embellished relief panels, two hundred angels, and six candlesticks in the form of angels.
These two panels depict Saint Matthew and Saint John, two of the four authors of the Gospels. The carved frames introduce some decorative elements familiar from New England moldings, but the overall flattened scheme within an arched architectural space under the canopy of heaven is similar to carved ivories and other small icons from Eastern orthodoxy. In this faith, John is believed to also be the author of the Book of Revelation, written while he was "in the spirit" and in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. Despite the singularity of his interpretation, Perates retains many conventions of Byzantine icons. Usually carved in relief, rather than as fully dimensional sculptures, each element was canonical and highly symbolic, including personal attribute, pose, and appearance. Saints Matthew and John are thus depicted as old men with white beards. As scribes, each holds a quill pen that he has used to inscribe the book of truth lying upon a writing stand. They are bathed in the light of the all-seeing eye of God as they engage in His work. Perates has further retained the attribute of the "living creature" from Revelation 4:7 associated with each figure: the winged man of Matthew and the Eagle of John. Color also plays a traditional role in such depictions: the gold halos, white faces, blue robes, and purple outer garments represent the radiance of God, his uncreated light, and their human nature glorified by God. Last, the crosses bear the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, referring to God’s assertion in Revelation.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Saint Matthew, 1938–1970, Saint John, 1938–1970" exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgCarved figure in relief of St. John. Figure stands at altar with quill pen in his right hand and left hand placed on manuscript at altar. To right of figure, a large bird sits perched above altar. Located to the right, above St. John, is a eye-like motif. Decorative interior border of leaves creates an arch around St. John. Exterior rectangular border design of winding grapevine.WOOD CARVING