Bonhams 1793 : Spyros Vassiliou (Greek, 1902/3-1984) Mezzogiorno / One Sunday 100 x 184 cm.

PROVENANCE:
Museum of Sao Paolo.
Sotheby's London, 18 October 2001, lot 72.

EXHIBITED:
Venice, International Biennale XXXII, 1964 (exhibited in the catalogue).

LITERATURE:
The Nea newspaper, Ta kallitexnika article, 7 july 1964 (illustratred).

Spyros Vassiliou, Fota & Skies, text by M. Kalligas, Athens 1969, p. 252, no 312 (illustrated).

Exhibited in the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1964 and acquired by the Museum of Sao Paulo in Brasil, monumental Mezzogiorno is an ode to everyday reality recited in the timeless Greek landscape and reinterpreted with Vassiliou's unmistakable lyrical and poetic dexterity. As the painter himself once said, "an artist must always be ready to receive every message, every inspiration from the world around him, for in painting there are no great or small, noble or humble subjects. Each has its own moments of greatness. Each contains some magic to be revealed." ¹ Not interested in depicting the landscape's most obvious 'natural beauty' and picturesque elements, Vassiliou captures the long-drawn shores of his beloved Eretria, depicting the sparse, austere expanse enlivened by human presence. As noted by author Leslie Finer, "the penetrating incisions of Vassiliou's paintbrush result in a description of the Greek scene which is unique in its totality and truth." ²

^1. Interview by T. Daskalopoulos, Pictures from Greece magazine, no. 24, January 1958, p. 35.
^2. L. Finer in Spyros Vassiliou, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery - A. Soutzos Museum, Athens 1975.