Swimmers on a Wooden Pier

by 20th century ArtAmerican ArtArtGreek ArtNeohellenic ArtStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Michael Axelos, Greek Artist, 1877-1965
Swimmers at Palaio Faliro beach, 1935, Oil on plywood, 24.5 x 35.2 cm, Bank of Greece, Athens, Greece
https://www.bankofgreece.gr/PublishingImages/PRESS-RELEASES/2022/Thalassografies_4.jpg.jpg
George Wesley Bellows, American Artist, 1882 – 1925
42 Kids, 1907. Oil on canvas, 106.7 x 152.4 cm, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.134485.html

Michael Axelos’s painting oeuvre attests to his solid technique and undeniable talent. It was not by chance, writes Yannis Stournaras, Governor of the Bank of Greece, that he was the first Greek artist to be entrusted, initially by the National Bank of Greece and subsequently by the Bank of Greece, with the design of banknotes and coins, which he imbued with an aesthetic quality. The Exhibition Michael Axelos (1877-1965) – Between two worlds (December 22, 2015 – July 6, 2017), organized by the Bank of Greece – Centre for Culture, Research, and Documentation, shed new light on both known and unknown aspects of the artist’s life. Going through the Exhibition Catalogue, the painting Swimmers at Palaio Faliro Beach caught my attention, and curiosity… how different, or similar, is the Greek artist’s painting compared to George Wesley Bellows composition 42 Kids? A new BLOG POST, Swimmers on a Wooden Pier, will not give you the decisive answer. Maybe information to reflect upon…    https://www.bankofgreece.gr/MediaAttachments/AXELOS_CATALOGUE.pdf

Michael Axelos, an artist of exceptional skill, whose significant output spanned different genres, was a graduate of the Athens Law School and of the Athens School of Fine Arts. From 1911 to 1914 he continued his studies in Paris, at the Académie Julian and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière where his rather conservative initial training was infused with the new artistic developments, on one hand, Fauvism, and on the other hand Cubism, as presented in the Salons of 1910 and 1911. Axelos devoted a large part of his life and work to the Bank of Greece, where he designed banknotes, coins, and security documents. His retirement in 1846 starts a new period in his artistic life. Without changing his style radically, his painting becomes somehow liberated, is less strict, and escapes from the conservative framework where he had consciously placed it. https://museum.bankofgreece.gr/en/exhibitions/5/–18771965—–?ctx=9b1ea4a74a6d7c70df84ae52cbab3c959873d6f8&idx=4

Michael Axelos, Greek Artist, 1877-1965
Swimmers at Palaio Faliro beach, 1935, Oil on plywood, 24.5 x 35.2 cm, Bank of Greece, Athens, Greece
https://www.bankofgreece.gr/PublishingImages/PRESS-RELEASES/2022/Thalassografies_4.jpg.jpg

In 1935, while still working for the Bank of Greece, Axelos painted Swimmers at Palaio Faliro beach, one of my favorite, most charming paintings. Palaio Faliro is a coastal suburb of Athens and a popular destination for beachgoers. Axelos’ painting depicts a group of swimmers, with the blue sky, the sea, and the not-so-distant Athenian coast, forming a prominent part of the composition. The swimmers are portrayed in a gestural and loose manner, emphasizing movement and dynamism. They take advantage of the well-constructed wooden piers and enjoy a typical Greek summer day, diving into the sea, splashing with joy in the water, and sunbathing. Axelos’ use of tints and little shade, expressive brushstrokes, and direct sunlight, creates a delightful, persuasive composition of a classic Greek summer morning.

George Wesley Bellows was an American artist known for his depictions of New York City life. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, and studied at the Ohio State University before moving to New York City in 1904 to study at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri. Bellows quickly became known for his bold and expressive style, which captured the energy and dynamism of the city. His early work focused on the working-class neighborhoods of New York, depicting scenes of tenement life, street vendors, and labor strikes. He was a member of the Ashcan School, a group of artists who sought to depict the realities of modern life in their work. Tragically, Bellows died at the age of 42 from a ruptured appendix. Despite his short career, he left a lasting impact on American art and is considered one of the most important artists of the early 20th century.

George Wesley Bellows, American Artist, 1882 – 1925
Forty Two Kids, 1907. Oil on canvas, 106.7 x 152.4 cm, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.134485.html

In August 1907 Bellows painted Forty-Two Kids, which depicts a band of nude and partially clothed boys engaged in a variety of antics—swimming, diving, sunbathing, smoking, and possibly urinating—on and near a dilapidated wharf jutting out over New York City’s East River. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.134485.html

In terms of aesthetics, Bellows has used bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors to capture the energy and excitement of the children. The figures are depicted in dynamic poses that convey their movement and joy. The composition is carefully balanced, with the rough wooden pier stretching out to the right of the canvas, and the water and sky occupying the upper two-thirds of the painting. The use of color is particularly striking in this painting. The boys’ gangly bodies are loosely painted and brightly lit from the upper left. Most are nude, and Bellows employs hues of bright, cream white to medium brown to capture their skin tones. For the rest of the painting, the river in particular, Bellows uses intense shades of blue, emerald green, and yellow that convey a sense of summertime and warmth. The reflections of the children in the water create a sense of depth and perspective, and the overall effect is one of a moment frozen in time, capturing the exuberance of roaming young boys from New York’s Lower East Side tenements. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.134485.html

Do you see similarities or differences? The decision is yours…

For a Student Activity, titled Swimmers on a Wooden Pier, please… Check HERE!

May Day on Corfu by Charlambos Pachis

by 19th century ArtArtGreek ArtNeohellenic ArtStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Charalambos Pachis, Greek Artist, 1844 – 1891
May Day on Corfu, ca 1875-1880, oil on canvas, 61 x 50 cm, National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece https://www.nationalgallery.gr/artwork/protomagia-stin-kerkyra/

On May Day in Corfu, write ‘The Kapodistria Museum – Center for Kapodistrian Studies’ experts, the villagers brought a cypress trunk to the city, the foliage of which they had decorated with wreaths and colorful ribbons. They hung red Easter eggs, pine cones, artichokes, and other fruit gilded, doves and such. This May tree was reminiscent of the Christmas tree. The villagers holding the cypress were singing outside the houses. May Day on Corfu by Charlambos Pachis is here to remind us of bygone happy days on the Island… https://www.capodistriasmuseum.gr/stories/anoixi-stin-kerkyra/

Haralambos Pachis (1844-1891) was an artist from the Island of Corfu who painted genre scenes and landscapes, mixing elements of traditional folk art with the Italian influences widespread on the island at the time. His education started at the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma (1868-1869) where he studied the latest techniques and styles of painting, and further matured, as he traveled to various European countries, to meet artists, and visit Museums and Galleries. In 1870 he returned to Corfu where he originally taught at the Capodistrias School but then founded a private art school at which many noteworthy Corfiot painters studied, such as Angelos Giallinas and Georgios Samartzis. https://www.nationalgallery.gr/en/artist/pachis-charalambos/

Like many artists from the Ionian Islands who were trained in Europe, Pachis brought his art experiences back to Corfu and incorporated them into his native ‘world’, adapting them to reflect the unique cultural and historical context of the Ionian Islands. As a result, the paintings he created were often characterized by a vibrant use of color, dynamic compositions, and a focus on local landscapes, people, and cultural traditions.

The artist from Corfu became an active member of the late 19th-century Greek art community. He was known for his portraits, landscapes, history compositions, and genre scenes, like the circa 1875-1880 painting of May Day on Corfu in the collection of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum in Athens, Greece.

May Day on Corfu, painted after the union (1864) of the Ionian Islands with Greece bursts with liveness, energy, and an ‘eloquent’ expressiveness. The artist’s diagonal composition brings us to the heart of a central street in the city of Corfu, where typical Corfiot buildings with arches, and a Church with a tall Belltower create a strong sense of depth and perspective, further increased with the faintly colored buildings at the end of the line.

In the foreground, we discern two groups of people: the ‘Creators of Merriment’, centrally placed, and the ‘Viewers’ around them.

Full of energy, and carrying the May Day cypress trunk, the Musicians presented in the composition, create true merriment and cheerfulness with jovial singing and robust music. Dressed in traditional Corfiot attire, and bathed in light, they draw our attention, but most importantly, the attention of the picture’s second group, the ‘Viewers’. Placed in front of a Beerhouse, or around the Musicians, Charalambos Pachis creates a diverse and ‘interesting’ group of ‘Viewers.’ Two herdsmen, for example, wearing red fezzes and tsaruchia-type shoes, one of them carrying a milk container on his shoulder, and five children, three of them standing by the herdsmen, and two more, by the Musicians. These children are quite enigmatic. Are they children or dwarfs? Do they present specific, well-known people on the island? I am afraid I do not have the ‘right’ answer.

Charalambos Pachis, Greek Artist, 1844 – 1891
May Day on Corfu (detail), ca 1875-1880, oil on canvas, 61 x 50 cm, National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece https://www.nationalgallery.gr/artwork/protomagia-stin-kerkyra/

May Day on Corfu by Charlambos Pachis is a composition that projects a wealth of details, purity of forms, vivid colours, and precision of design. It is an ethnological treasure trove, a festive scene in an Ionian Island rich in culture… a 19th-century snapshot of Corfiot merriment!

Wishing you a very Happy May Day!

For a May Day Student Activity, please… Check HERE!

The Girl with the Pigeons

by 19th century ArtArtGreek ArtNeohellenic ArtStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Polychronis Lembesis, Greek Artist, 1849-1913
The Girl with the Pigeons, 1879, Oil on Canvas, 120×80 cm, Averoff Museum of Neo-Hellenic Art, Metsovo, Greece
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Lembesis_Polychronis_The_girl_with_the_Pigeons.jpg

The Girl with the Pigeons is a famous Greek painting by Polychronis Lembesis in the Collection of the Averoff Museum of Neo-Hellenic Art in Metsovo. It reminds me of a poem I read by  Ustav Shah… With the onset of the sun in the horizon, the little creatures awake / And dance and sing melodies tantamount to a group of chortling people / Oh, how I wish such convivial sights be captured / And played back on repeat everytime you feel low     /     As vagabonds they fly in search of food and shelter / And when the sun does set, off they disappear in their nests / Robbing the nature of its beauty… Lembesis definitely captured the vagabonds’ convivial sight, their dance, and singing melodies… https://hellopoetry.com/words/pigeon/

Polychronis Lembesis, one of Greece’s most important 19th-century painters, is a distinguished representative of the so-called “School of Munich”, the major 19th-century Greek Art Movement. Born on the Island of Salamis, graced with ‘smiling shores and calm pine-covered slopes,’ Lembesis spent a humble early life near his father’s flock. Distinguishing himself as a student, he was granted a scholarship by the politician Dimitrios Voulgaris (“Tsoumpes”) to study painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, firstly, and then, in 1875, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich. His teachers in Munich were Wilhelm Lindenschmidt and Ludwig von Löfftz; his best friend was the already-known Greek painter Nicholaos Gyzis.

Returning to Greece, in 1880, the artist settled in the Thision area of Athens, where he established a Studio, becoming well-known as a Portraitist, a teacher of painting (Prime Minister Stefanos Dragoumis’s children were his students), and a Hagiographer. He participated in many group exhibitions in Athens, the 1903 International Exhibition of Paris, and the International Exhibition of Athens, in 1904. Polychronis was a gentle, humble, and quiet man throughout his life, wrote Nikos Zias. Disappointed by the Athenian artistic ‘disputes’ Polychronis Lembesis chose to retire to the island of his birth, Salamis, where he lived “in obscurity” and poverty.https://www.nationalgallery.gr/en/painting-permanent-exhibition/painter/lembesis-polychronis.html and https://www.tovima.gr/2008/11/24/opinions/o-pio-spoydaios-ellinas-zwgrafos-2/

Polychronis Lembesis, Greek Artist, 1849-1913
The Child with the Rabbits, 1879, Oil on Canvas, 130z103 cm, National Gallery, Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Evripidis Koutlidis Foundation, Athens, Greece https://www.nationalgallery.gr/en/painting-permanent-exhibition/painting/the-bourgeois-class-and-its-painters/genre-painting/the-child-with-the-rabbits.html

The artist was an accomplished Portraitist, using the dark background of the painting, to brightly project the sitter’s head. He was an excellent landscape painter, connecting the composition of each painting with either the historicity of the place he depicts or with ethnographic references. Lembesis is also an exemplary painter of everyday scenes in a Greek village, not with the arrogance of the scholarly observer as Nikos Zias writes, but with the simplicity of the man who lives in it. https://www.tovima.gr/2008/11/24/opinions/o-pio-spoydaios-ellinas-zwgrafos-2/

Every time I visit the Epirote village of Metsovo, I feel it is my duty to check on the Averoff Museum of Neo-Hellenic Art and stand, once more, in front of The Girl with the Pigeons. I like how the artist captured the ‘moment’ without being an Impressionist, with his free, broad brush strokes, and warm colours. I enjoy the ‘energy’ he creates around a standing young girl who feeds the boisterous vagabonds and tries to protect herself at the same time… I can almost hear their overexcited melodies…

For a Student Activity, please… Check HERE!