Self Portrait (1901) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
Konstantinos Parthenis represents the heroic phase of Greek modernism, which managed to break with the artistic establishment of Munich. The cosmopolitan background of this Alexandrian painter (Italy, Vienna, Paris) may well account for his idiosyncratic eclecticism.
He succeeded in incorporating various influences into his own unparalleled style marked by idealism, a certain “musicality” and rhythm, and the spiritual sublimation of his pictorial matter.
The Slope (1908) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
His paintings executed in Vienna and in Greece during his first sojourn (1903-1907) reveal his strong attraction towards the Sezession, the Viennese version of Symbolism and Art Nouveau, and particularly Gustav Klimt.
Landscape with Fir Trees, Ischl (1902) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
The development of the surface composition, the high horizon without a sky, the decorative schematization, the pointillisme, and the cold colors dominate these pictures.
The Harbor of Kalamata (1911) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
After his contact with Parisian avant-garde (1909-1911) and his return to Greece, Parthenis interpreted the Greek light through brighter colours, influenced by post impressionist painters and the fauves.
The Annunciation (1910/1911) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
The French symbolists, both the older, like Puvis de Chavannes, and the younger, like the Nabis, and in particular Maurice Denis, appear to have marked not only the morphology, but also the thematic choices of his work, as shown in the religious compositions
The Riches of Communication (ca. 1925) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
and the idealistic allegories, which are prominent in the artist’s creations of the thirties.
Bathers (before 1919) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
The Byzantine hagiographers and Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco 1541 – 1614) may also be added to Parthenis’ masters, within the ideological horizon of the Generation of the Thirties.
Still Life with Acropolis in the Background (before 1931) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
In his works between 1930-1940, we can also trace the impact of Cubism.
The Night Responds to My Complaints (ca. 1933) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
Parthenis’ mature paintings present us with an ideal vision of Greece, its myths and history; in this the Olympian deities, the Byzantine saints and the heroes of the Greek War of Independence live together in harmony.
The Apotheosis of Athanasios Diakos (before 1933) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
After 1920, he turned more towards anthropocentric, symbolist and allegorical subjects. With its powerful stylisation and light tonal palette, which makes his nimble, tall and thin figures seem like dreamlike projections on the canvas screen.
In this monumental painting, an apotheosis, according to its title, of the great Greek revolutionary hero, Athanasios Diakos (1788-1821), who died a martyr's death, Parthenis connected the hero's resurrection and ascension with Christ's Resurrection.
On the left, a haloed figure, an Angel or one of the Myrrhophores, is startled upon discovering the empty tomb of the resurrected hero.
In the middle, another angel, wearing a helmet and carrying a spear and shield, reminding us of the goddess Athena, witnesses the miracle.
Athanassios Diakos, in a classical chiton, rises to heaven, where he is received by angel musicians, similar to those in Greco`s paintings, while others are bringing laurel wreaths in order to crown him.
A girl, as if out of Botticelli's (1445-1510) "Spring", is sprinkling the hero with flowers from her lap. Incense is burning in a tall classical incense burner.
The painting elevates the Greek Revolution into the sphere of the ideal world. The idealisation of history is also achieved through the symbols and the iconographical spirituality of the work.
Aphrodite (1950/1960) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
His ideal figures are suspended in a type of transcendental space where time has been abolished and the remains of the visible world have turned into platonic archetypes, with the help of an impalpable technique.
The Virgin Mary (ca. 1940 - 1942) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
The pigments have lost their material quality, turning into a purely spiritual projection. Parthenis’ mature works recall supernatural acts featuring divine epiphanies.
Kerkyra Landscape (Corfu) (ca. 1914 - 1917) by Parthenis KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
In his painting, he fashioned a completely unique and personal style, with which he transformed his ideas and visions into images, opening the road for the revitalization of Greek art.
Texts: Marina Lampraki-Plaka, Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, ex-Director, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens
Project leader: Efi Agathonikou, Head of Collections Department, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens
Images: Stavros Psiroukis & Thalia Kimpari, Photographic Studio, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens
Digital curation: Dr. Alexandros Teneketzis, Art Historian & Marina Tomazani, Art Historian, Curator, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
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