Konstantinos Maleas

Estimate

40,000 - 60,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Konstantinos Maleas
Pine Trees in Raffina
signed lower left
oil on board
29.5 by 38cm., 11½ by 15in.

Provenance

A. Makropoulou, Athens
Sale: Sotheby's, London 16 November 2005, lot 13
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Possibly National Gallery, Athens, 1920, as Attic seaside
Athens, National Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum, Maleas Retrospective, 1980, no. 72 (as Windswept Pine Trees)

Literature

Antonis Kotidis, Modernism and 'Paradosi', University Studio Press, 1993, p. 184, ilustrated (with incorrect measurements)

Catalogue Note

Influenced by the Post-Impressionist movement of the early twentieth century, Maleas' work is dominated by vibrant colours and thick brushstrokes. His technique of applying paint in layers was inspired by the teachings of Henri Martin, under whom he studied in Paris between 1901-1908.

A fervent admirer of Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin, Maleas remained faithful to Post-Impressionist tenets throughout his career as a landscapist. His pivotal importance to Greek painting is ascribed to the assimilation of Pont-Aven Symbolism, the arabesque line and flattened space of Art Nouveau and the highly-keyed expressive palette of Fauvism.