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With the works of Nikolaos Hatzikiriakos - Ghikas we come
to one of the most significant artists of this
generation, a leading figure in the artistic movement of
the 1930’s, and one of the most important exponents
of modern Greek art. He was a pupil of Parthenis,
and worked with Pikionis on the magazine
«Third eye». He expresses another intellectual and more
complex approach to the theme of a «Greek» element in
art, which dominated his generation. For Ghika, artistic
stimulation reaches back to ancient Mediterranean
civilizations, to the Far East and the Mosaics of
Byzantine art, but also to the contemporary movements
cubism, with which he comes into contact early on while
studying in Paris. Thus, in his work we have the
combination of intellect and decoration, an analytic mood
combined with the attempt to portray emotion and feeling,
calligraphic and academic features, creating a separate,
distinct and well-developed result. Still Life (1934),
«Landscape with Waterfalls» (1943) and «Santorini»
(1959), all of which are to be found in Municipal Gallery
of Rhodes, are typical of his artistic quest as well as
his achievements. In the first work, the influence of
cubism, of Baroque and Picasso, and more
generally the mood of a more analytical approach is
clear. In the other two works, painted in their natural
environment, the artist concentrates on portraying his
feelings through his relation with the place and the
event. Thus, in «Landscape» with its  waterfalls,
the cubist mood gives way entirely and is replaces by
descripteveness and atmosphere. In «Santorini» these
factors are creatively combined both with a late-cubist
approach and the liberal use of colors. The work of N.
Hatzikiriakos-Ghikas is both mature and highly personal,
making use both of the intellect and the emotional
relation an artist has with the world. |
