Beschreibung:

WITHDRAWN - Series of sixteen ink and wash drawings of pre-war Athens Author: Tsarouchis, Yannis Place Published: Athens Date Published: 1934-39 Description: 16 Ink and wash drawings on paper in tape-backed portfolio. Verso of portfolio cover with drawing and inscription. Each drawing captioned by hand in Greek. Drawings each approx. 15x12 cm (6x4¾"). Aside from drawing on verso of portfolio cover, all sheets mounted or tipped to larger sheet measuring 42x29.7 cm (16½x11¾"). Includes original envelope inscribed by hand by Yannis Tsarouchis. A remarkable series of Athenian sketches on the eve of the German occupation of Greece with each drawing signed by Tsarouchis. Yannis Tsarouchis (1910-1989) was an artist of Modern Greece who recorded the life of the Greek people, those hidden behind the veneer of what Odysseus Elytis calls the "excess gold" of their classical ancestors. His images of sailors and common folk provide a portrait of Greece at odds with that portrayed by most British and European travelers—perhaps with the exception of Henry Miller and the Durrell family. His images of quotidian Greek life anticipate such irreverent work as the 1960 film Never on Sunday. According to Elytis "A revolutionary can't be classical at the same time. But Tsarouchis is. The day this painter dared to look for Hermes not on Mount Olympus, but in the 'Olympus Coffee House', a myth left the pages of books and came to life, and the artist's eye was obligated to see the world differently...To the extent that Tsarouchis proved worthy to cleanse the ikon of Hellenism of its excess gold, he is a revolutionary, whose aim was not to destroy, but to rediscover a tradition. But to the extent that he succeeded in making use of its secret traditions, he is classical." Provenance: from an Athenian collection. The artworks, as described in the inscription, were dedicated by the artist to Mr. Dimitris Archontopoulos on Christmas of 1973 in the memory of good times. Mr. Archontopoulos was friends with the consignor's family. Condition: Minor creasing and some errant ink spots or mild offsetting, minor dampstaining and consequent toning to last leaf; some toning to envelope; very good to near fine. Item#: 349066 Headline: WITHDRAWN - Sixteen ink and wash drawings by Tsarouchis