The Fortress of Corfu
Work Artirst Modal
The Fortress of Corfu
Giallinas, Angelos (1857 Corfu - 1939 Corfu)
First, he studied in Corfu under Charalampos Pachis and, then, he concluded his studies in Rome, Naples and Venice. He began his exhibition activities in 1875 by participating at the “Olympia” and presented his first solo exhibition at the Athens Club in 1886. In 1974, the Greek National Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of his work. In 1881, joined by V. Bokatsiambis and other Corfiot friends of the arts, he co-founded the Corfu School of Fine Arts, in which he also served as member of the fraculty. He travelled and painted in several cities around Spain and in Istanbul, while he also held several extremely successful solo exhibitions in London, Paris and other European cities. His desire to selflessly give back to Corfu was expressed in many ways, as he actively participated in all intellectual associations of the city and served as president of the Corfu Philharmonic.After numerous searches for expressive means ever since he was a student, Giallinas finally turned to watercolor, which he took on almost exclusively, thus evolving into one of the top Greek watercolor painters. Painting mostly landscapes, but also genre themes, he created poetic images which reflect a classicistic-romantic perception and are characterized by the balance of composition, the special diligence in rendering details and the sensibility in conveying color gradations.
After numerous searches for expressive means ever since he was a student, Giallinas finally turned to watercolor, which he took on almost exclusively, thus evolving into one of the top Greek watercolor painters, establishing a school of his own in his specialty. Painting mostly landscapes (seascapes; ancient Greek, Byzantine and Oriental monuments; neighborhoods, etc.) but also genre themes, he created poetic images which reflect a classicistic-romantic perception and are characterized by the balance of composition, the special diligence in rendering details and the sensibility in conveying color gradations. Taking advantage of the properties of watercolor, Giallinas delivers his landscapes in an impressionist style, opting for soft tonal transitions. The landscape of Corfu is idealized, appearing almost sublime.