SPYROS PAPALOUKAS (1892-1957)
Parnassus (2, 457m - 8,061ft)
Greece
In Landscape, Mount Parnassus, watercolor on paper, The National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Greece
The mountain
Parnassus or Mount Parnassus (2, 457m - 8,061ft), in greek Parnassos (Παρνασσός) which means "the mountain of the house of the god", is a mountain of limestone in central Greece that towers above Delphi, north of the Gulf of Corinth. According to Greek mythology, this mountain was sacred to Dionysus and the Dionysian mysteries; it was also sacred to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs, and it was the home of the Muses. The mountain was also favored by the Dorians. Parnassus is one of the largest mountainous regions of Mainland Greece and one of the highest Greek mountains. It spreads over three municipalities, namely of Boeotia, Phthiotis and Phocis, where its largest part lies. Its highest peak is Liakouras.
This relation of the mountain to the Muses offered an instigation to its more recent "mystification", with the poetic-artistic trend of the 19th century called "Parnassism". The Parnassic movement was established in France in the decade 1866–1876 as a reaction to Romanticism with a return to some classicistic elements and belief in the doctrine "Art for the Art", first expressed by the poet Theophile Gautier. The periodical Modern Parnassus issued for the first time by Catul Mendes and Xavier Ricard contained direct references to Mount.Parnassus and its mythological feature as habitation of the Muses. The Parnassists, who did not exceed a group of twenty poets, exercised a relatively strong influence on the cultural life of Paris, particularly due to their tenacity on perfection of rhyme and vocabulary. Parnassism influenced several French poets, such as Baudelaire, but it also exercised an influence on Modern Greek poets, particularly Kostis Palamas and Gryparis.
The name of the mountain, (Mont Parnasse in french), was also given to an area of Paris on the left banc of the Seine, where artists and poets used to gather. Montparnasse is nowadays one of the most renowned quarters of the city and in its cemetery many personalities of the arts and culture are buried.
The painter
He studied at the School of Fine Arts (1909-1916) winning seven first prizes during his attendance. In 1917 he went to Paris where he continued his studies at the Julian and Grande Chaumiere Academies but stopped in 1921 to take part in the Asia Minor Campaign as a war painter along with Periklis Vyzantios and Pavlos Rodokanakis. The works he painted there were exhibited at the Zappeion Hall in 1922, but were later lost in the destruction of Smyrna.
During 1923-1924 he stayed in Mt. Athos where he studied nature and Byzantine art and painted a series of works he exhibited at the end of 1924 in Thessaloniki. Having won the contest for the illustration of the Cathedral of Amfissa in 1926, he worked on the decoration from 1927 to 1932 while from 1932 to 1933 he painted an apartment building in the Exarcheia section of Athens, known ever since as the Blue Apartment House. His activity as a hagiographer and decorator continued with the illustration of other churches and the decoration of the Archaeological Museum of Herakleio; in 1926 his interest in set design commenced and he did sets for the performances at the National Theater, the Kotopouli Theater and elsewhere. He taught freehand and decorative drawing at the Handicrafts School, starting in 1925, decorative arts at the Sivitanideio Institute starting in 1936 while in 1940 he was appointed decorator of the Town-Planning Service of the Ministry for the Administration of the Capital and the Technical Service of the Municipality of Athens. At the same time he assumed the management of the Municipal Gallery. From 1943 to 1951 he taught freehand drawing at the Architectural School of the National Technical University and in 1956 was elected professor to the painting studio of the School of Fine Arts.
During the period 1935 to 1937 he published the avant garde Greek magazine Το Τρίτο Μάτι. A founding member of the Art Group and member of the League of Greek Artists, he took part in their exhibitions, in group shows in Greece and abroad as well as in Panhellenies.
In 1976 his work was presented in a retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery and in 1982 at the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Athens.
He was involved with portraiture and still life, but landscape is what dominated his painting which he rendered after having fully assimilated the doctrines of Byzantine art as well as certain post-impressionistic trends: Paul Gauguin, the Nabis and Pointillism in particular. In his portraits he adopted various techniques while in his iconography he endeavored to combine traditional Byzantine types with elements derived from modern artistic trends.
He was involved with portraiture and still life, but landscape is what dominated his painting which he rendered after having fully assimilated the doctrines of Byzantine art as well as certain post-impressionistic trends: Paul Gauguin, the Nabis and Pointillism in particular. In his portraits he adopted various techniques while in his iconography he endeavored to combine traditional Byzantine types with elements derived from modern artistic trends.
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2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
