Three Egyptian Women walking in the Countryside (1910/1911) by Maleas KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
Graduate of the Megali tou Genous Scholi (Great School of the Hellenes) Maleas studied architecture at the Polytechnic School of Constantinople.
From 1901 to 1908 he lived in Paris, where he took painting lessons from the neo-impressionist Henri Martin and studied at the School of the Decorative Arts. At the same time his exhibition activity commenced. He returned to his homeland and travelled to the Middle East, painting intensively (1908-1910).
In 1913 he moved with his family to Thessaloniki and the following year was appointed chief engineer to the municipality, a post he remained at till 1917, when he settled in Athens. During the Thessaloniki fire of 1917 many of his works were destroyed.
Landscape by the Sea (1918/1920) by Maleas KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
In 1918 he became the Director of the Museum of Folk Handicrafts and was appointed a member of the Artistic Council of the National Gallery.
Thermos, Aitoloakarnania (ca 1921) by Maleas KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
In 1920 he travelled to Sparta, Mystras, Olympia and Naxos, and the next year to Thermo, Aitolia, accompanying the archaeologist Konstantinos Romaios.
The painting shows a serene plain of green fields and yellow hay stacks, reaching to the low hills in the background. Horizontal bands of tall poplar and cypress trees multiply the effect of the immense landscape.
In the foreground, the painter has depicted the remains — the platform with the column bases — of the renowned archaic temple of Thermos. This foreground plane operates similarly to the screens placed by set designers in the foreground of the theatrical stage.
Ηowever, he rejects the effect of depth. How? By maintaining the intensity of colour even in the furthest planes. Thus, the image is kept within the canvas surface.
Methana (c. 1918 - 1920) by Maleas KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
During 1921-1923, he lived and worked in Chios and Lesbos and in 1923 received the Prize in Letters and Arts. A founding member of the Art Group, he participated in its exhibitions, while presenting his works in other group shows and a total of thirteen solo exhibitions.
A year before his death at forty-nine years of age, he visited Paris and Munich. In 1936 his works were sent to the Venice Biennale. Retrospective presentations of his work were held in 1929 at the Zappeion Hall and in 1980 at the National Gallery.
In addition to his artistic creation he was also active in educational reform and worked in cooperation with Dimitrios Glinos, Alexandros Delmouzos and Manolis Triantafyllidis.
Santorini (1924/1928) by Maleas KonstantinosNational Gallery of Greece - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
A revitalizing influence in Greek painting, using impressionist and post-impressionist models as his starting point, he produced mainly landscapes, in which schematization and powerful, pure colors dominate and in that way built a composition made up of unities.
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: Marina Tomazani, Art Historian, Curator, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
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