Exploring the Enigma of Painting, Spyros Papaloukas.

Spyros Papaloukas, Exploring the Enigma of Painting, 

at the Theocharakis Foundation, Athens.

Between 1909 and 1916 Papaloukas studied painting at the School of Fine art in Athens, and then continued his studies in Paris for four years. The discovery of modern art during his stay in Paris was pivotal in his evolution - he was mainly influenced by Post-Impressionism and a mild version of Fauvism.

After his Paris experience, he spent one year on Mount Athos. This experience also proved formative for his creative development. He worked feverishly, painting landscapes, monasteries, shipyards and copying frescoes, panel paintings, manuscripts and miniature art, all of which he later used extensively in the decoration of the church of Evangelistria in Amfissa. He acknowledged the impact that Byzantine art had on him: 'It gave me faith in everything I was still looking for. Up there on Athos, I clearly saw that, in all great periods, art is nothing but form and colour in response to a 'form'... a set of aesthetic rules whereby each people and each period fulfil the needs of life'.

Whilst Drinking Coffee, 1917, (oil on cardboard)

Boats on the Seine, 1918, (oil on cardboard)

The Bay of Antikira, 1922, (oil on plywood)

Pine Trees in Salamina, 1926, (oil on cardboard)

Hill with Poplars, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Villages on Mt Parnassus, 1927, (oil on cardboard)

Blue House on Mt Parnassus, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Red Tower, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Houses in Kypriadou, 1930, (oil on canvas)

Bed in a Cell, 1923, (oil on cardboard)

Kafsokalyvia, Kyriako, 1924, (oil on canvas)

Stavronikita Monastery, 1924, (oil on canvas)

Passage at Simonopetra Monastery, 1924, (oil on canvas)

Saint Demetrios, (oil on canvas)

Composition with Bust, 1956, (oil on canvas)

Islets of Paros, 1948, (oil on cardboard)

Cafe in Mytilene, 1929, (oil on linen)

Cafe in Mytlene, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Lesvos, Belfry and Red Rooftops, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Lesvos, Houses on the Slope, 1925, (oil on cardboard)

Boatyard at Pantokrator Monastery, 1924, (oil on cardboard)

Boatyard at Pantokrator Monastery, 1934, (oil on canvas)

View from the Veranda, 1948, (oil on cardboard)

Saint Phocas, 1948, (oil on cardboard)

Landscape from Antiparos, 1948, (oil on cardboard)