Collection's title

Palace of the Popes at Avignon, 1914

Palace of the Popes at Avignon, 1914
Palace of the Popes at Avignon, 1914
Artist
Galanis Dimitris
(Athens 1879-Paris 1966)
Artist's CV
All artist's collections
CV
Galanis Dimitris
(Athens 1879-Paris 1966)

Dimitris Galanis was an engraver, and one of the pioneers of the form in the Greek art world. From a very young age, he expressed interest in music, mathematics and drawing, and began to publish cartoons in newspapers and magazines while still a teenager. He studied for two years at the School of Civil Engineering of the Athens Technical University (1897-1899) while also taking drawing lessons from Nikiforos Lytras (1899). He then settled in Paris in 1900, where he spent the greater part of his life, occasionally travelling to various countries in Europe and to Greece. Up until 1902, he studied at the School of Fine Arts under Fernand Cormon, and from 1901 to 1912, he worked with popular humour publications, such as Frou-Frou, Le Rire, Le Sourire, L’Assiette au Beurre and others, publishing comics and drawings.

His persistent interest in engraving must have surfaced on a trip to Germany (1907-1909), and in 1918, he began to illustrate books. This activity constituted a significant part of his artistic creation and produced more than 100 books, albums, calendars and art publications. In 1930, he stopped drawing altogether and devoted himself exclusively to engraving. Having obtained French citizenship, he taught at the André Lhote Academy (1925-1928), in his own studio (1930-1937) he taught Greek artists studying in Paris, and also taught at the School of Fine Arts (1945-1952). In 1945, he was elected to the French Academy and in 1950, he was made a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens.

By the 1920s, Galanis had mastered woodcuts and began to experiment further with engraving techniques in copper. Compositions he had carved in wood in the previous decade smoothly transitioned into the method of etching and fixing the engraving with acid. He exhibited extensively, both in France and other countries, and in 1922 presented his first solo exhibition in Paris, where André Malraux delivered the opening remarks. He also took part in the Parisian salons, and from 1920 to 1926, he was included in group shows with some of the most important artists of the day, including Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Chagall and Derain, with whom he was close friends. In 1991, his work was presented in a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art-Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Andros.

Galanis often transposed his paintings to engravings: in the early years, it was the geometrical still lifes, and later it was the rounded female forms and landscapes. The portrait of his son, Jean, as a child was made from a similar drawing dated from 1914 and is one of Galanis’ most popular works. Its prominent characteristic is the intense emotional quality which allows for the presence of cubist features in the composition.

Share the page
Υλικό
Wood-engraving (velo)
Dimensions
33,8X32
Source
Gift of Dimitrios D. Tsamis
Description
Undoubtedly, The Palace of the Popes at Avignon is one of the most important works by Dimitris Galanis, certainly the crowning engraving of his early, Cubist period, and without doubt one of the works / symbols of modern Greek engraving, which influenced Greek print-makers as no other did. It was produced in August 1914, when Galanis was in the city of Avignon as a volunteer in the French army and drew on the spot this imposing palace with the groups of soldiers of the Foreign Legion in its forecourt. As to the number of copies of this work, there are disagreements, because it has been proved by those that are to be found in different collections that the woodcut was printed twice, in 20 (collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Copy No.: 18/20) and 25 copies (collection of the National Gallery, Copy No.: 24/25), respectively. There is the view that the work was printed again in 1928 in Athens, on the occasion of Galanis's visit. Be that as it may, in this work features such as contrasts between the illuminated and the dark surfaces, the bold use of the diagonal, the different handling of the items in the foreground and the second plane are combined. More specifically: contrary to the usual custom, the foreground is heavily shadowed, while the particularly brightly lit elevation of the palace on the second plane dominates the picture. The differing degrees of lighting are determined by the stressed diagonal, and the light, again contrary to usual practice, emphasises the stylised masses of the soldiers on the right, while flattening the group in the background on the left. The space is defined by means of a logic which involves many Cubist features and is highlighted through the solutions provided by the particular engraving of the wood.