Lot 31: Michalis Economou (Greek, 1888-1933) Houses by the sea 34 x 50.5 cm.

Houses by the sea
signed 'M. Economou' (lower left)
oil on card
34 x 50.5 cm.

Provenance:
Private collection, Athens.

Literature:
Afroditi Kouria, M. Economou, Adam Editions, Athens 2001, p. 205, no 157 (illustrated).

A quintessential work by a master of early 20th century Greek art, whose signature style, as noted by Professor A. Kotidis, "is unique in European art and whose subjects are stripped from their descriptive role to reveal their expressive, narrative nature."υ1 Suspended between real time and memory, two humble seaside adobe dwellings, rendered in abbreviated curvilinear forms and delightfully reflected on shallow still waters, become images of subjective truth, while the human presence - suggested rather than depicted on the doorway under the yellow tent - seems to partake in the vagueness and poetic uncertainty of space.

The motif of the house reflected on water is a favourite and recurrent theme throughout Economou's oeuvre, echoing distant memories marked by early experiences and visual recollections.υ2 (Note how ingeniously the irregular eaves of the roof on the right swoop low to draw the line of vision to the water.) "The coexistence of the man-made/solid with the natural/liquid provides the painter a bipolarity that allows him to express his psychological state. He seeks equilibrium in his pictorial world, the same way he tries to find a balance between security and uncertainty in his private life."υ3

Designed as monolithic cubes with openings that seem to have been carved out from the solid volume, the simple houses take on a sculptural quality that articulates a sense of stability and permanence. This vision of 'humble monumentality' combined with compositional firmness, a glowing palette of warm tones and energetic handling make the picture one of the artist's most successful landscapes.

υ1. A.K. in Dictionary of Greek Artists [in Greek], vol. 3, Melissa publ., Athens 1999, p. 349.
υ2. See A. Kouria, Michalis Economou [in Greek], Adam publ., Athens 2001, pp. 27-28.
υ3. A.K. in Dictionary of Greek Artists, pp. 350-351.