Lot 77: Pericles Vyzantios (Greek 1893-1972)

At the exhibition
signed in greek (lower right)
oil on canvas
50 x 74 cm. (19 5/8 x 29 in.)

Athens, Hilton gallery, 1967.
Athens, National gallery, Retrospective, 1984.

After studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and having absorbed some of the modernist trends of the early 20th century, Vyzantios returned to Athens, where he became a founding-member of the "Omada Technis" (Art Group), the first organised effort to overthrow the academic styles of the past. In this painting of an art exhibition, possibly a highly acclaimed one of the time, he pays tribute to the modern French artists he admired. The reduction of his palette to muted tonalities and the schematic style contribute a sense of immediacy to this work, while the triangular formation of the crowd emphasises its concentration on the paintings and their professor's lecture.