026. GHIKA (HATZIKYRIAKOS) Nikos (1906-1994)

Strepsiadis’ 1951

Signed & dated ο/tempera on hardboard 72×48 cm

€ 4.000 – 5.000

Monumental rendering of the old Athenian peasant Strepsiades for the staging of the comedy “Nepheles” by Aristophanes which captures masterfully all those characteristics of the hero of the play. With rough rigid lines, an emphasis on sculpting and expressionistic distortion, especially in the face-mask, he gives power to the look and the emotional intensity of the particular moment. He delivers an incredible appearance of the uneducated, ill-educated peasant, even his very name suggests crookedness (στρεψοδικία – chicanery). The hopelessly unhappy and debt-ridden Strepsiadis is depicted with unique pictorial dynamism and explosive vitality.  With particular emphasis on the shaping of the volumes, the  abstract design th simplicity in expression and plastic values Ghika gives the fascinating painting immediacy and a grotesque frenzy.