022. PARTHENIS Constantine (1878-1967)

‘The Riches of Communication’ (Transportation;) c1920-1925

Signed oil on canvas 41×80 cm

€ 18.000 – 25.000

This is a masterly delicate and enchanting rendering of the monumental composition by the Alexandrian artist that encapsulates all his artistic genius. It is a poetic rendering of reality through multiple allegories and diverse symbolisms, shaping of forms, faint brushstrokes, and lines and color tones full of subtlety and spirituality. The pigment loses its material substance. The painting captures the essence of minimalism and the otherworldly where matter obeys spirit. It highlights the “divine breath” of art, the ability of painting to graft the human with the divine. In the foreground, on the left, a naked young man is depicted with a caduceus; perhaps Hermes, patron of commerce. Next to him two female figures in robes and veils can be discerned; they personify sea and land transport. The composition is completed by another seated female figure, possibly representing goddess Athena who is the patroness of two smaller-scale female figures, one personifying music and the other science. On the second level, a lyrical island landscape is presented. The immaterial forms float in a transcendental space where time has been dissolved. Curves full of tension and dynamism activate the shaped volumes composing a fairy-tale exotic magical atmosphere.

Publ. “C.Parthenis’ by E.Matheopoulos – ADAM publ. Athens 2008, variants shown p.243 & 245

PROV. Priv. collection Athens