Lot 173: Kleoniki Aspriotou , Greek active 1870-1938 standing nude oil on canvas

signed, inscribed and dated 1897 lower right oil on canvas

121 by 64cm., 47¾ by 25¼in.

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 8 February 1989, lot 113
Private Collection, Poland

Kleoniki Asprioti is one of the very few female Greek nineteenth-century painters. A pupil of Jules Joseph Lefebre in Paris, works such as the present work showcase her talent, while showing the tutelage of her mentor as well as the influence of other leading French pompier painters of the time, such as Cabanel and Bougereau. The present work, whilst a classical academic nude, can be seen as a celebration of feminine beauty, of form, and of the rhythm of colour.