Lot 22: Michalis Economou (Greek, 1888-1933) Trees by the sea 26 x 42 cm.

Trees by the sea
signed 'M. Economou' (lower left)
oil on canvas laid down on cardboard
26 x 42 cm.

Provenance:
Private collection, Athens.

Literature:
Afrodite Kouria, M. Economou, Adam Editions, Athens 2001, p. 88, no 51 (illustrated).

Unmistakably Greek in appearance and feel, this lyrical landscape of radiant light, luminous colour and melodic rhythm demonstrates Economou's interpretative approach to nature. Rather than strive for descriptive detail or topographical accuracy, his primary concern was to capture colour fluctuations and fleeting effects of sparkling light in an evocative manner that would convey the atmosphere and momentary elusiveness of the Greek landscape. As noted by A. Kouria who prepared the artist's monograph, the painter's childhood experiences of the Aegean Sea remained vivid throughout his life, playing an important role in the development of his pictorial vision.υ1

Using deep blue as his base colourυ2 and painting directly on unprimed canvas with admirable confidence and freedom, Economou brings land, sea and sky together in the form of successive bands of hues (note the depth and vibration of the indigo blues and emerald greens used for the sea), leading the eye from the sandy beach and pine trees in the foreground to the foamy wave in the middleground to the sailing boats gently swinging on the distant horizon. The harmonising agencies of air and light play a decisive factor in creating the picture's overall atmosphere and establishing its ethos, confirming Economou's ability not only to demonstrate freshness of execution and fidelity to nature's effects but also to transform a simple subject into an evocative image.

υ1. See A. Kouria, Michalis Economou [in Greek], Adam publ., Athens 2001, p. 28.
υ2. As noted by A. Kouria, the same deep blue is also found in Sea, one of the artist's most masterfully handled compositions. See Kouria, p. 240.