16. CONSTANTINOS VOLANAKIS (1837-1907) Art & décoration

Description

16. CONSTANTINOS VOLANAKIS (1837-1907) Bateaux de pêche sur le rivage signé « Bolanachi » et signé aussi en grec (en bas à gauche) huile sur toile 71 x 136 cm. (27.95 × 53.54 in.) Provenance Private collection, Athens. This fine example of the artist's German period—as indicated by its signature in Latin characters—showcases the defining elements of Volanakis's art. Virtuoso brushwork, immediacy of execution, sense of space, precision of detail, harmony of proportion and unity of effect come together to create a moving composition of austere beauty. The suggestion of the atmosphere and the low horizon that gives full value to the spaciousness of the sweeping sky, are reminiscent of the great 17th-century Dutch seascape painters, especially Simon de Vlieger and his pupil Jan van de Cappelle. The artist's depiction of the absolute stillness of the sea, intersected by vertical masts, is a combination of realistic and romantic elements in a harmonious composition and lyrical interpretation of the seascape. He is simply interested in a vertical and a horizontal to create a metaphysical stillness. That's why he prefers calm seas and spring or summer skies. Rarely do his clouds warn of a coming storm.1 Here, his wealth of detail is an integral part of the whole, while the fishermen in the boats and the moored caiques blend in with the surroundings and the natural environment in a romantic notion of art echoing Claude Lorrain, the great 17th century master of imaginative landscapes. As noted by Professor M. Vlachos, who prepared the artist's monograph, by the end of the 1860s, Volanakis, well versed in maritime themes, thoroughly familiar with German studio art and fully acquainted with the types and styles of Dutch seascape painting, is in constant communion with nature, in a composite relationship from which poetry emerges. Especially his love for and familiarity with small vessels produced works of pure lyricism.2 1 : See S. Lydakis, "Volanakis, a Pioneer", Epta Imeres Kathimerini newspaper Sunday supplement, February 22, 1998, p. 14. 2 : See M. Vlachos, "Constantinos Volanakis (1837-1907)" in Constantinos Volanakis. The Father of Greek Seascape Painting [in Greek], exhibition catalogue, V & M Theocharakis Foundation of Fine Arts and Music, Athens 2018, p. 17 and The Painter Constantinos Volanakis (1837-1907) [in Greek], doctorate dissertation, Athens 1974, pp. 105, 109-122.