Biography

Gerasimos Steris (Stamatelatos) was born in 1898 in Digaleto, Kefalonia, and emerged as one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in the history of modern Greek art. His artistic journey reflects the internal quest and innovation that characterized his era and the celebrated Generation of the '30s. After graduating from the Greek-French Lyceum in Alexandria, where his family had migrated, Steris returned to Greece and enrolled in the Athens School of Fine Arts in 1915. Under the tutelage of Dimitrios Geraniotis and Georgios Iakovidis, he laid the foundations of his artistic education.

The 1920s brought him to Paris during a period of intense artistic avant-garde movements. At the Académie Julian, where he studied, he interacted with personalities such as Pablo Picasso and André Derain. At the Sorbonne, he attended philosophy and psychology courses, striving to bridge the metaphysical with the aesthetic. His artistic goals included tranquility, monumental seriousness, and spirituality. Often, he was more concerned with the theoretical than the practical aspects of art.

Steris returned to Greece in the early 1930s, bringing with him a distinctly modernist perspective. His first solo exhibition in Athens in 1931 became a cultural landmark. Critics' opinions were divided. In contrast to the criticism of Zacharias Papantoniou, director of the National Gallery, progressive intellectuals praised Steris as a pioneer. His supporters, including Dimitris Pikionis and Stratis Doukas, wrote the famous “18 Critical Articles,” a manifesto in favor of modernity in Greek art. During this period, he collaborated with prominent figures, designing theater sets with Pikionis and contributing to the restoration of Byzantine frescoes in Mystras alongside Fotis Kontoglou. His artistic style from this time combines traditional Greek themes with a bold modernist approach, characterized by simple forms, symbolic references, and a distinctive interplay of light and shadow.

In 1936, Steris left Greece for America, a decision that would significantly alter his path. He departed with a small suitcase and a copy of George Seferis's poem Denial, a symbol of his personal renunciations: he abandoned his family, homeland, and, to a large extent, his artistic identity.[1] In America, he adopted the names George de Steris and later Guelfo Ammon d'Este, living in anonymity. Initially, he worked designing posters and sets for film studios. A milestone of this period was the creation of four large murals for the Greek Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. These murals, inspired by Greek history, reflected his nostalgic connection to his homeland.[2]

Steris portrayed the mythical dimension of Greece. Central themes included the transformation of the land, nature, solitude, and mystery. His Homeric Shores and Ariadnes exude a sense of immortality. In his compositions, he also places the creator, as they reflect the issue of spiritual and national identity “balancing on a tightrope.” In subsequent years, Steris focused on teaching and writing theoretical texts on art. Despite reduced artistic output, his works from this period reveal a strong inclination toward experimentation, incorporating surrealist and expressionist elements that differed from his Greek creations.

Gerasimos Steris passed away in 1987 in New York, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in mystery. His ashes were returned to Kefalonia, completing a life cycle full of wanderings and “transformations.” The decades following his death marked a revival of interest in his work. Retrospective exhibitions, such as those at the National Gallery and the Benaki Museum, solidified his status as a precursor of Greek modernism.

Steris's art testifies to the duality of his existence: deeply rooted in antiquity and myth, yet daringly modern. His forms, particularly the female figures, convey a sense of timelessness, while his landscapes capture the serene and mystical essence of Homeric Greece. The evolution of his style, from the abstract simplicity of his early works to the dynamic, often melancholic mood of his American period, reveals his constant quest for artistic self-awareness. Odysseas Elytis described Steris as the most lucid yet most mysterious Greek painter.[3] This phrase encapsulates the essence of an artist who transcends easy categorization, blending the clarity of classical ideals with the complexity of existential exploration. Steris remains a beacon of artistic innovation, a life and a body of work balanced between memory and vision, as well as between great victories and lost battles in a parallel struggle for mastery of form and artistic self-knowledge.[4]

Georgia Dimopoulou

Classics Scholar – Editor

[1] Koumbarelou Magda, Gerasimos Steris – Paintings and Drawings – The American Period, p. 4, Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece, Athens, 2006.

[2] https://www.nationalgallery.gr/artist/steris-gerasimos/

[3] Elytis Odysseas, Steris, p. 9, National Gallery, Athens, 1982.

[4] Loizidi Niki, Greek Artists Abroad, p. 220, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for Greeks Abroad, Ekdotiki Ellados S.A., Athens, 1983.