Spyros Vassiliou | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | March 22, 1985 81) | (aged
Nationality | Greek |
Education | Athens School of Fine Arts |
Known for | Painting, illustrations, wood carving, stage and costume designs |
Children | 2 |
Spyros Vassiliou (Greek: Σπύρος Βασιλείου; June 16, 1903 – March 22, 1985 [1] ) was a Greek painter, printmaker, illustrator, and stage designer. He became widely recognized for his work starting in the 1930s, when he received the Benaki Prize from the Athens Academy. The recipient of a Guggenheim Prize for Greece (in 1960), Spyros Vassiliou's works have been exhibited in galleries throughout Europe, in the United States, and Canada. [2] [3]
The townsmen of Galaxidi, where Vassiliou was born, collected money to send him to Athens in 1921, to study at the Athens School of Fine Arts under teachers Alexandros Kaloudis and Nikolaos Lytras. In 1929, Vassiliou held his first individual exhibition, and in 1930 he was awarded the Benaki Prize for his design of Saint Dionysios Church in Kolonaki, Athens. During this time he was also a founding member of the art groups ”Techni" and "Stathmi". He represented Greece at the Venice Biennale in 1934 and 1964, exhibited in Alexandria in 1957, and at the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1959. In 1955 he designed and painted the interior of Saint Konstantinos Orthodox church of Detroit. In 1960 he was awarded the Solomon R. Guggenheim National Section Award for his painting "Lights and Shadows". In 1975 and 1983 his work was presented in a retrospective exhibition in the National Art Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum.
Spyros Vassiliou became recognized as a painter of the transformation of the modern urban environment, depicting with an unwavering eye the sprawl of urban development that surrounded his home in Athens, under the walls of the Parthenon. His artistic identity combined monochrome backgrounds and the unorthodox positioning of objects. He paid homage to the Byzantine icon by floating symbols of everyday Greek life on washes of gold or sea-blue color, very much like the religious symbols that float on gold in religious art. With oils and watercolours, he painted natural and urban space, portraits, still-life, and scenes of daily living, combining selective elements of cubism and impressionism. A member of an important community of Greek artists in the mid-20th century, Vassiliou was known as one of the first Greek pop-art painters.
For many years Vassiliou taught theatre. As early as 1927 he designed sets and costumes for the stage. He also worked in film. Well known projects include Michalis Kakoyiannis' 1962 adaptation of Euripides, and Elektra, starring Irene Papas and close friend Manos Katrakis. [4]
During the years of the German occupation of Greece (1941-1945), when painting supplies were scarce, Vassiliou turned to engraving and woodcuts. Works such as The Burial of Palamas and The Mourning of the Kalavrytans (1943) became famous in Greece as symbols of freedom. His activity during those years also included the illustration and underground publication of three manuscript volumes as well as woodcut prints for magazines.
Over the years, dozens of Vassiliou's illustrations and paintings were printed on covers of books and magazines including The Athenian (magazine) and children's magazine To Rodi, where he also critiqued children's drawings.
The Greek National Tourism Organization used ones of Vassiliou illustrations, the "Island of Poros", as a promotional poster for Greece in 1948.
The home and studio of Spyros Vassiliou opened to the public as a Museum in June 2004 with the help of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The Museum portrayed the artistic heritage of one of the most acclaimed painters of Modern Greek art by displaying a large number of his works – paintings and theatrical designs - in the home where the artist lived. The building is located blocks away from the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, and the Acropolis of Athens but has closed its operation as a museum since February 2016.
The Spyros Vassiliou Archive is maintained by ARTIFEX, a non-profit organization which preserves and promotes Spyros Vassiliou's work.
The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern times, an extensive collection of Asian art, hosts periodic exhibitions and maintains a state-of-the-art restoration and conservation workshop. Although the museum initially housed a collection that included Islamic art, Chinese porcelain and exhibits on toys, its 2000 re-opening led to the creation of satellite museums that focused on specific collections, allowing the main museum to focus on Greek culture over the span of the country's history. This Museum in Athens houses over 100,000 artifacts from Greek history and showcases the many eras, civilizations and cultures which have influenced the development of Greece. Spread over a number of locations, the museum ranks among Greece’s foremost cultural institutions.
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, also known as Nikos Ghika, was a leading Greek painter, sculptor, engraver, writer and academic. He was a founding member of the Association of Greek Art Critics, AICA-Hellas, International Association of Art Critics.
Modern Greek art is art from the period between the emergence of the new independent Greek state and the 20th century. As Mainland Greece was under Ottoman rule for all four centuries, it was not a part of the Renaissance and artistic movements that followed in Western Europe. However, Greek islands such as Crete, and the Ionian islands in particular were for large periods under Venetian or other European powers' rule and thus were able to better assimilate the radical artistic changes that were occurring in Europe during the 14th-18th century.
The National Gallery is an art museum located on Vasilissis Sofias avenue in the Pangrati district, Athens, Greece. It is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century to the 20th century.
Polychronis Lembesis, was a Greek painter, a member of the Munich School of Greek artists.
The Heptanese School of painting 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.
Konstantinos Maleas was one of the most important Post-impressionist Greek painters of the 20th century. Along with Konstantinos Parthenis, he is sometimes considered Greece's most important modern artist.
Alexandros Tzannis is a Greek painter. His work has been shown at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany, the New Benaki Museum, Athens and the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Alexandros Alexandrakis was a Greek painter, who became widely known from his particularly dynamic depictions of the Greco-Italian War of 1940.
Costas Evangelatos is a Greek artist and poet born in Argostoli, Greece. He studied law at Athens University and later pursued painting and aesthetic theory of modern art in Manhattan, New York City. From 1986 to 1993, he served as the artistic director of the DADA Gallery in Athens and in 1990, he founded the art group ART STUDIO "EST".
Tassos Mantzavinos is a Greek painter who graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts. His work has been exhibited in many museums and galleries in Greece and abroad and he has also worked on various book illustrations.
Yannis Mitarakis was a Greek landscape painter.
George Zongolopoulos was an important Greek sculptor, painter and architect. Zongolopoulos, who was often called the “eternal teenager” was a representative of the so-called “Generation of 1930s” while his work extends from the 1920s until his late life.
Nikolaos Ventouras was a Greek artist and engraver.
Pavlos Samios was a Greek painter and professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
The Athenian was an English-language magazine printed in Greece, featuring journalism, commentary, satire, cartoons and essays. Although its reviews and events listings focused on the cultural life of Athens, The Athenian had a wide audience of English reading residents of Greece and travelers. It was also known for its illustrated covers, its commentaries on popular and ancient Hellenic culture as well as travel information.
Manolis Chatzidakis was a Greek Byzantinist. He significantly contributed to the history of art of Greece. He specialized in the field of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine painting. He is considered the 20th century Giorgio Vasari and Bernardo de' Dominici. He was an archeologist, art historian, author, lecturer and curator. He also spoke Arabic and contributed to the field of Islamic art. He helped saved countless artifacts.
Saint Mark is a tempera-on-wood painting created c. 1657 by Emmanuel Tzanes. Tzanes was a Cretan painter who migrated to Corfu and Venice. He settled in Venice with his brothers Konstantinos Tzanes and poet Marinos Tzanes. Konstantinos was a famous painter. Their combined existing works number over 150. Emmanuel replaced Greek painter Philotheos Skoufos as the priest of San Giorgio De Greco.
The Miracle of the Holy Belt was completed by Theodore Poulakis. He was a Greek painter originally from the village of Chania, Crete. He was associated with the Cretan School. He eventually migrated to the Ionian Islands. He was a member of the Heptanese School. He settled on the island of Corfu. He was a famous teacher. He signed a six-year contract to teach painting to Marinos Damistras son Tzorzi. The contract stipulated that his student had to follow him to Venice. Poulakis frequently traveled all over the Venetian Empire. During one period of his life, he stayed in Venice for over 13 years. He was very active within the painting community. He was also involved with the prestigious quarantia council. One hundred thirty of his work survived.
Loukas Venetoulias was a Greek painter.