Constantinos Maleas (1879-1928)
a) View of Delfi signed in Greek (lower left)
oil on cardboard
25 x 27.3 cm. (9 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.)
Painted c.1922-1923
b) Road in Mytilini
signed in Greek (lower right)
oil on cardboard
19.5 x 23 cm. (7 5/8 x 9 in.)
Painted c.1921-1923
(2)
oil on cardboard
25 x 27.3 cm. (9 7/8 x 10 3/4 in.)
Painted c.1922-1923
b) Road in Mytilini
signed in Greek (lower right)
oil on cardboard
19.5 x 23 cm. (7 5/8 x 9 in.)
Painted c.1921-1923
(2)
Sold for
£36,000
inc. premium
Footnotes
- A road in Mylilini, lined with quaint, wooden houses, a warbling water fountain on the corner, a tree leaning over the deserted road all bathed in that blue-green colour that enlivens this tranquil architectural ensemble with a dreamy, enchanting spirit.1 In 1921-1923, C. Maleas, the great master of Greek landscape painting, remained on the island of Mytilini, producing several of his most mature works. In his monograph on the artist, Professor A. Kotidis notes: In the output from his Mytilini period, we can perceive the distance Maleas covered since 1910, when he painted Lebanon [auctioned by Bonhams, Greek Sale 23.5.2006, lot 100]: his fervent temperament has been replaced by serene contemplation. Road in Mytilini reveals the artists intention to convey to the viewer a sense of solitude, the lack of human presence from both the natural and man-made environment, the dominance of the natural over the human.2
Subjects from Delphi represent another important body of Maleas work. Demonstrating bold handling of line, colour and volumetric form within a luminous and vibrant atmosphere, the artist transforms the stimuli of the visible world into an abstract language of signs articulated around a solid architectural structure. Commenting upon lot 84 A. Kotidis notes:The view of Delphi, which belongs to a private collection, was painted before 1923. Since his early output, the one element that defines Maleas art above anything else is his effort to organise the pictorial space as a system of forms, where nothing is random and everything follows a compositional plan that constitutes a new reality.3
1M. Kalamas, Patris daily, 21.3.1923
2A. Kotidis, Constantinos Maleas [in Greek], Athens 2000, pp. 181, 185
3Kotidis, p. 188
Auction Notices
- Please note that the following information was omitted from the cataloguing for Lot 84:- Exhibited: Athens, National Gallery, Maleas - Retrospective exhibition, May-July 1980. Literature: Antonis Kotidis, Maleas, Adam Publications, Athens 2000, no. 133 (a) no 126 (b), p. 197 and p. 190.
Category: Fine Art / Greek Art
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