Fotis Kontoglou

The early 20^th Century saw Greek artistic interest limited to an idealisation of the imitation of classical Greece as seen from the viewpoint of Western scholars, with the notable exception of the work of European-influenced modernists such as Parthenis and Maleas. Though Kontoglou would be in his formative years within this environment, and studied at the School of Fine Arts in Athens (at that time still strongly in the grip of the Munich School) after a traditional and classicistic education, he would come to resist the rejection of doctrinal identity and carve his own niche within a revival of a uniquely Greek aesthetic. 

Upon his arrival at Mount Athos, a fashionable destination for the most prominent intellectuals, Kontoglou would exclaim: 'I must say I had not expected to find such perfect art in the monastery churches. From what I had read about Byzantine art I had formed the idea that it was less worthy of attention than the art of the Italian Renaissance... [but] on Mount Athos there are paintings of the most superb artistry, such as the Archangel Gabriel and St. Merkourios by Katelanos. So far as I am in a position to judge, it is very seldom that one comes across paintings executed with such shrewd artistic judgment and charged with such powerful rhythm. I approached these paintings with a feeling which arises from a cast of mind similar to that of the Byzantines and from a strict Christian upbringing' (The Art of Athos, c.1923, quoted in Nikos Zias, 'The Greek Tradition and Fotis Kondoglou,' Zygos, vol. III, Athens, 1984, p. 58). Copying frescos and icons would lead Kontoglou along the visual path to a neo-Byzantine purity and austerity, and the Asia Minor tragedy of 1922 in which Greeks were expelled from Anatolia would give Kontoglou intellectual and spiritual momentum.

The year 1930 witnessed a profound change in the prevailing Greek attitude toward Byzantium. The Byzantine Museum in Athens would open (with Kontoglou holding a position as icon restorer), and the Benaki Museum, which holds a superlative collection of Byzantine and other art.  Byzantinists in the areas of writing, teaching, music, architecture and fine art were also gaining renown.  Kontoglou can be fairly credited as being a frontrunner of this revival of historic cultural identity, and in works such as the present exhibits his rebellious refusal to conform to norms and  his far-reaching intellectual curiosity.