Pine Trees on Kerkyra
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Pine Trees on Kerkyra
Parthenis, Konstantinos (1878/1879 Alexandria - 1967 Athens)
He most likely received his first painting lessons in Egypt during 1894-1895, taught by the German artist Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach. He then went on to Vienna in 1895/1896, where he completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts (1897-1903) and at the Conservatory.
In 1903 he came to Greece for the first time and, in that same year, he took part in the International Exhibition in Athens, in which he was awarded a silver medal. He stayed in Greece for five years, during which he travelled to various places, painting secular and religious themes for churches. From 1909 to 1911/1914 he lived in Paris, where he took part in several Salons, including the 1910 Autumn Salon, where his work “The Slope” was awarded a prize. Upon returning to Greece, he settled in Corfu for some time, acquired the Greek citizenship and became a member of the literary and artistic group “Company of Nine”. In 1917, he permanently relocated to Athens and co-founded, together with other artists, the art group “Omada Techni”. In 1929, a presidential decree issued by his close friend Alexandros Papanastasiou appointed him professor at the faculty of the Athens School of Fine Arts, after he had failed to be elected professor in 1923. He taught at the School until 1947, at which point he resigned. His paintings include religious themes, landscapes, mythological and allegorical scenes, portraits and still lifes. His inspiration is drawn from the ancient and Byzantine art, as well as the latest trends – impressionism, post-impressionism, symbolism and Art Nouveau – thus paving the way for the renewal of Greek art.
The permanent exhibition of the Corfu Branch features eleven works by Parthenis, showcasing almost all periods of his creative course. Among his most emblematic ones, however, are two landscapes of Corfu dating between 1911 and 1917 , when the painter lived on the island.
In Pine Trees in Corfu Parthenis captures a landscape of the island, a daily scene set among the olive groves and the lush vegetation that is so characteristic of the Corfu landscape. The human presence in a harmonious and, hence, gladsome osmosis with the natural world, becomes a popular theme for many painters of the beginning of the twentieth century that acquires a symbolic importance while also capturing the everyday life.
Pine Trees in Corfu marks a significant turn in Parthenis’s painting, as his drawing becomes more angled, his geometric-natured painting forms become flame-shaped and curvaceous and acquire an autonomous value, and color is applied sparingly. The image appears infused with the breath of the wind
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ECard
- Χρονολογία: 1914 - 1917
- Υλικό: Λάδι σε μουσαμά
- Διαστάσεις: 90 x 96 cm
- Αρ. Έργου: Π.6475
Π.Ε.Π. ΙΟΝΙΩΝ ΝΗΣΩΝ
