021. THEOPHILOS CHATZIMICHAIL (1870-1934)

‘Asia Minor Aivali – Turkey opposite’ 1931

Signed & dated casein /oil on canvas 50×40 cm

€ 4.000 – 5.000

The self-taught national Greek painter and iconographer Theophilos, renowned for his painterly skill and disarming humility, transforms the Greek landscape into a world of poetic beauty bathed in Mediterranean light. In this work he depicts the French steamer with soft lyrical hues through the breathtaking whites and blues that adjoin masterfully and harmoniously, effortlessly adding truth and dynamism to the work. His seascape painted with chromatic sensitivity and harmony in a tender pastel palette exhibits rare, subtle soft tones that give it warmth and comfort. Catalyzing the colors, light brings out the painterly qualities. With harmony in composition flatness in representation, abstract design and unpretentious drawing the painting evokes folk tradition and reminds us of Le Corbusier’s words: “He is a painter born of the Greek landscape […] the sea and the mountains of the gods.” Here, the exceptional quality in the artist’s rendering of the subject matter conveys a sense of carefree ease joy and bliss; his work demonstrates a profound understanding of the principles of artistic creation reminiscent of the traditions of the East and the Byzantine Empire.

PAINTINGS BY THEOPHILOS CANNOT BE EXPORTED FROM GREECE

ROV. Private coll. Thessaloniki