Constantinos Parthenis Greek, 1878-1967

Private Collection, Athens

The Walk of the Caryatid is a major work from the 1930s when Parthenis was at the height of his artistic powers. On the right of the composition, a ghostlike figure has descended from the Acropolis to stroll through the city. In the background, Hadrian’s Arch and columns from the Temple of the Olympeus Zeus, monuments of Greece’s glorious past, are offset against a vibrant blue sky. Parthenis has also incorporated modern elements such as the tram and electric pylons possibly symbolizing the meeting of the ancient world of the past and the modern world of the present.  

Influenced by the modern currents he encountered when in Paris before World War I, Parthenis, through his art, introduced elements of Art Nouveau and cubism to Greece.  "We must create for the future and be inspired by the future. In any case, this will happen and prevail; the more we move away from the past, the better we shall see, and we will stop to be short-sighted". (Constantinos Parthenis, quoted in Dimitris Papastamos, Painting 1930-40, Astir Company, 1981, p. 68).

The importance that Parthenis attached to drawing is evident in the prominent use of line in the present work. Fine lines are enhanced only by the most delicate use of light and colour. The subtle hues of blue, brown and green, used to accentuate objects, imbue this painting with a mysticism typical of Parthenis' mature work. He was quoted as saying to his students  "You must remember! Light = colour. This is what creates shape". (ibid.,  p. 66).

A professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1929 to 1947, Parthenis encouraged his students to paint using their mind  and soul: "Gentlemen, the greatest labour in the creation of art is the work of the mind, and the painter should also work with the mind and soul, just as the poet is never tired of noting the verses with a pencil, but labour intellectually and his whole work is done with the mind and the emotions". (Constantinos Parthenis, ibid., p. 66).

The present work was among the fifty-six paintings Parthenis chose to exhibit at the Venice Biennale of 1938.