Yiannis Tsarouchis

(Greek, 1910-1989)

Portrait of a Young Man 47 x 38 cm.

Footnotes

Exhibited
Thessaloniki, Tellogleio Art Institute, Selections of a Bold Collector, Stavros Tsigkoglou, February 2017, no. 94 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 175).

Distilled with marvellous restraint, this captivating portrait of a young Greek male epitomizes the artist's signature subject. Impeccably painted in earthy colours, highlighted by solid outlines, and handled with confident brushwork, the work conveys a sense of immediacy and presence, distantly echoing Gysis's psychologically acute portraits. The honesty of representation, genuineness of character and purity of form give this portrait its power and directness, impelling the viewer to scratch beyond the veneer to seek the inner world of the young Greek. As noted by D. Kapetanakis, "Tsarouchis managed, with the wisdom of his art, to elevate a model posing in his studio into a symbol of the Modern Greek spirit."¹

As noted by Athens National Gallery Director M. Lambraki-Plaka, "in Tsarouchis's work, the human figure managed to survive three sins: the primordial, the academic and the 'modern'. With the latter one I mean modern art's iconoclastic crusade, which never tired to demolish, distort or expel the human form. Tsarouchis did not give in to this negative aesthetic theory which preached the systematic rejection of the rules of Western tradition. He is one of the few painters who managed to cross the tempestuous 20th century by keeping intact the precious human figure."<sup>2

1</sup> D. Kapetanakis, Yiannis Tsarouchis, Return to Roots, Nea Grammata magazine, 1937.
² M. Lambraki-Plaka, "Yannis Tsarouchis, the Icon and the Work" [in Greek], Lexi magazine, no. 73, March-April 1988, p. 229. See also Osei Myra, Yannis Tsarouchis 1910-1989 [in Greek], Kastaniotis editions, Athens 1998, p. 452.