Nikolaos Kantounis in the context of "Filiki Eteria"

Panagiotis Doxaras (Greek: Παναγιώτης Δοξαράς; 1662–1729), also known as Panayiotis Doxaras, was an author and painter. He was a prolific member of the Heptanese school. He was influenced by early members of the movement namely: Elias Moskos, Theodoros Poulakis, Stephanos Tzangarolas, Spyridon Sperantzas and Victor. The Heptanese school evolved during the Baroque period and continued into the Late Baroque or Rococo. Doxaras's son Nikolaos Doxaras continued the artistic movement into the Neoclassical era. Both Panagiotis and his son Nikolaos refined the school. The school was heavily influenced by the Venetian style. The Heptanese school also influenced Italian painting. Other artists Doxaras influenced were Nikolaos Kantounis. Panagioti's teacher was the famous painter Leos Moskos. whom he studied with while he was in Venice. Doxaras painted notable portraits of Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg. He introduced Maniera Italiana to the Heptanese school, drastically changing the style from the Maniera Greca. He is considered the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art.

The Heptanese school of painting (Greek: Επτανησιακή Σχολή, lit. 'school of the Seven Islands'; also known as the Ionian Islands school or Ionian school) succeeded the Cretan school as the leading school of Greek post-Byzantine painting after Crete fell to the Ottomans in 1669. Like the Cretan school, it combined Byzantine traditions with an increasing Western European artistic influence and also saw the first significant depiction of secular subjects. The school was based in the Ionian Islands, which were not part of Ottoman Greece, from the middle of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century. The center of Greek art migrated urgently to the Ionian Islands but countless Greek artists were influenced by the school including the ones living throughout the Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire and elsewhere in the world.

The early Heptanese school was influenced by Flemish, French, Italian and German engravings. Artists representative of that era were Theodore Poulakis, Elias Moskos and Emmanuel Tzanes. Notable works include The Fall of Man and Jacob’s Ladder and Noah's Ark. The early 1700s were influenced by Greek painters Nikolaos Kallergis and Panagiotis Doxaras. Greek art was no longer limited to the traditional maniera greca dominant in the Cretan school but the style evolved into the Stile di pittura Ionico or stile Ionico in English Ionian style. The movement featured a mixture of brilliant artists. They took risks in creating art that escaped tradition. Some examples of paintings include: Virgin Glykofilousa, The Deposition from the Cross, and Assumption of Mary. In the 1800s the Heptanese school featured prominent portrait painters Nikolaos Kantounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis and Gerasimos Pitsamanos. Other artists of the school included Spyridon Ventouras, Efstathios Karousos, Stephanos Tzangarolas and Spyridon Sperantzas.

Spyridon Sperantzas (Greek: Σπυρίδων Σπεράντζας, 1733 – 1818) was a Greek painter. He flourished during the Greek Neoclassical era and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos. Because of the Fall of the Republic of Venice, Sperantzas brought the Heptanese School into the Greek Romantic period. By the 1800s the Ionian Islands were occupied by both French and English forces and for the first time since the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the local Greeks governed themselves. Sperantzas, Nikolaos Kantounis, and Nikolaos Koutouzis represent the transition in painting that defined Modern Greek art. Sperantzas was influenced by Nikolaos Kallergis, Nikolaos Doxaras, and Nikolaos Koutouzis. His son Michael Sperantzas was also a famous painter and his apprentice. Spyridon also painted frescos.

Nikolaos Doxaras (Greek: Νικόλαος Δοξαράς; 1706/10 – 2 March 1775). He was a Greek painter and teacher. His father was famous painter Panagiotis Doxaras. Panagiotis Doxaras was the father of the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art. They are both prominent members of the Heptanese School. They refined Greek art bringing the Maniera Greca into the Maniera Italiana. Artists he influenced include: Nikolaos Kantounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis and Gerasimos Pitsamanos. His influence can be seen in some of Nikolaos Kantounis's paintings notably The Assumption. Nikolaos taught famous painter Nikolaos Koutouzis. Both Nikolaos Koutouzis and Doxaras artistic style refined the art of the Ionian Islands. Venetian painting influenced countless Greek artists who were living in the empire. From Michael Damaskinos to Theodore Poulakis. Twenty years after Nikolaos's death the style came to an end due to the Fall of the Republic of Venice. A new artistic style developed after the Greek Rococo which coincided with Neoclassicism in the rest of Europe called the middle Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos.

Nikolaos Kallergis (Greek: Νικόλαος Καλλέργης; 1699–1747), also known as Kalergis. He was a Greek painter during the Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos. His art also exhibited Venetian influence. Painters of the maniera greca began to refine their art. Philotheos Skoufos, Elias Moskos, and Theodore Poulakis were all active painters on the Ionian Islands prior to Kallergis. They set the stage for the transition to the Heptanese School. Panagiotis Doxaras is the forefather of the new painting style. He was the father of Greek Rococo and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in painting. Kallergis became an active member of the school. Kallergis also represents the Greek Rococo. His art began to exhibit qualities of Greek and Italian Neoclassicism. His style influenced countless painters. Examples include Nikolaos Kantounis, Nikolaos Koutouzis, Nikolaos Doxaras, Spiridione Roma, and Eustathios Karousos. His most famous work is Christ and Angel it is at the Zakynthos Museum.

The Deposition from the Cross or Descent from the Cross is a tempera painting created by Greek painter Stylianos Stavrakis. He was active during the early part of the 1700s. His nephew and brother were also famous painters. His nephew Demetrios Stavrakis was also his pupil. He was also a goldsmith. Most of his works were completed on the island of Zakynthos. He was a representative of the Heptanese school and Greek Rococo. Fourteen of his paintings survived.

Countless Greek and Italian paintings have been created representing Christ on the cross. The Descent from the Cross is part of the Passion series. The Deposition from the Cross shows the moment when Christ's body is removed from the cross and taken for burial. Artists have artistically reanimated the event in paintings. Well-known versions include works by Duccio, Ioannis Apakas, and Nikolaos Kantounis. Stavraki's painting can be found in Athens Greece at the Benaki Museum.

Nikolaos Koutouzis, or Koutousis (Greek: Νικόλαος Κουτούζης; 1741 – 1813) was a Greek painter, poet and priest. He was part of the Heptanese School, but also a member of the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art. His teacher was the painter Nikolaos Doxaras. Koutouzis has 136 paintings attributed to him, including fifteen portraits. He was one of the last Greek painters to incorporate the Venetian style during its decline, due to the Fall of the Republic of Venice. He was the teacher of Nikolaos Kantounis, who was heavily influenced by his style.

Spyridon Ventouras (Greek: Σπυρίδων Βεντούρας, 1761–1835) also known as Spyridon Venturas. He was a Greek painter, professor and architect. He was a prominent member of the Heptanese School. He represented the art of Lefkada. Many Greek painters were associated with the island namely: Konstantinos Kontarinis, Stylianos Devaris, Spyridon Maratzos, and Makarios Lefkas. Other active painters of the Heptanese School during the same period were Nikolaos Koutouzis and Nikolaos Kantounis. The Greek community was undergoing the Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos in art. Ventouras influenced countless artists both Greek and Italian. The painting of John Chrysostom, Criticizing Empress Eudoxia was copied by many painters from the region. Some of the artists were Makarios Lefkas and Stylianos Devaris. Ventouras also painted his own version. According to the Institute of Neohellenic Research, over sixty of his paintings have survived, five of them were notable portraits. His most notable work was a Portrait of Ali Paschi.