Biography

The noble island of Corfu, where the first Greek university operated from 1824, named the Ionian Academy, with distinguished scholars and intellectuals such as Andreas Moustoxydis, Christoforos Filitas, Konstantinos Asopios, Theoklitos Pharmakidis, and Andreas Kalvos, became, thanks to its long coexistence with the Venetians (1386-1797), a fertile ground for the development of a cosmopolitan life and corresponding cultural flourishing. It was also home to notable foreigners, such as the traveler and painter Edward Lear and the writer Lawrence Durrell, as well as our national poet Dionysios Solomos.[1] In the last quarter of a century, a group of Corfiot painters emerged who were not mere imitators of Italian art, including Stelios Desylas (1875-1913), Vicentios Bokatsiabis (1856-1933), Spyros Pizanis (1870-1927), and Angelos Giallinas. These painters, along with younger artists Lycurgos Kogevinas (1887-1940) and Markos Zavitsianos (1884-1923), as well as Giallinas’ first teacher, Charalambos Pahis (1844-1891), produced works of significant weight “that surpass the narrow boundaries of the island,” as noted by Toni Spiteris.[2] Giallinas, son of Stamos Giallinas-Chalikiopoulos-Agorastos and Elena, née Fragkiskos Melikis,[3] was born on March 5, 1857, in British-occupied Corfu, seven years before the Union with Greece, in a family of noble descent, the wealthiest family in the Ionian Islands for over two centuries, as emphasized by Theodoros Vellianitis.[4] This family lived in one of the oldest mansions on the island, in the northwestern part of Upper Spianada Square, at 16 Kapodistriou Street, in a building that is today declared a historic preserved monument and is intended to be transformed into a modern Museum for his work. Giallinas studied at the “Kapodistrias” educational institution, where he was a weak student, and nothing foreshadowed the brilliant path he would follow.[5]

He received his first artistic lessons at the School of the prominent landscape painter of the time, Ch. Pahis, during the period 1872-75. In 1875, with the support of his family, he left for Italy, where he studied in Venice (1875-77, Accademia di Belle Arti), Naples (1878, Istituto di Belle Arti), and Rome until 1878, although he did not obtain any diploma.[6] There, he assimilated elements from the watercolor school of Giacinto Gicante (1806-1870) and the Neapolitan school of Posilippo, as well as Italian verismo.[7] Upon his return to Corfu in 1879, he had already decided to focus exclusively on watercolor, known internationally by the Italian term “acquerello,” a technique also partly employed by his first Corfiot teacher, Ch. Pahis. In 1881, he founded a private art school with V. Bokatsiabis, which evolved into the “Art School of Corfu” in 1884.[8] It seems that the difficult financial situation his family faced, a common factor during that transitional period of Union with the financially weak Greece for many previously wealthy families on the island, like his fellow artist Georgios Samartzis,[9] motivated Giallinas to pursue painting professionally and to earn a living from it.[10] His first subjects would be found while exploring the coasts of Asia Minor, and he exhibited them in Vienna, attracting attention.[11] He also traveled to Rhodes (1884) and Constantinople (1885).[12] In 1884, he participated in the Salon of Paris. He held his first solo exhibition in Athens in 1886, organized by Michail Melas at the “Athenian Club,” making a particularly positive impression.[13] His talent was recognized by the British ambassador to Greece, Clare Ford, who invited him to accompany him to Spain, where he was transferred as ambassador.[14] In 1887, he successfully organized an exhibition in Madrid after his travels in Madrid, the Alhambra, and Toledo.[15] He subsequently participated in many group exhibitions in Greece, even receiving a gold medal at the “sketches” exhibition at Parnassus in 1890. That same year, he met Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who deeply appreciated him and purchased some of his works.[16] In 1896, he took part in the particularly successful exhibition at Zappeion on the occasion of the first Olympic Games, occupying an entire hall with his works. D. I. Kalogeropoulos noted that Giallinas “emerged victorious from this exhibition.”[17] Meanwhile, a very significant solo exhibition of his was organized in London (1892, Gallery Craves), receiving accolades from the British critics, while in Greece, “The Newspaper” referred to him as “the poetic painter of Greek nature.”[18] In 1895, he married his student and fellow painter, Angeliki Topali. In 1897, he illustrated the “Short Stories” of Dimitris Vikelas alongside Gyzis, Lytras, Iakovidis, Rallis, Rizos, and Fokas. In 1900, he participated in the International Exhibition of Paris. In the years 1901, 1903, and 1905, he took part in the exhibitions of “Parnassus.” In 1902, he founded the Artistic and Crafts School in Corfu, where he taught. In 1903, he stayed in Rome for five months, creating an album depicting the city’s monuments and landscapes. In 1905, he organized an exhibition in Berlin (Gallery “Schulte”) with equally great success. The German art critic of the time noted approvingly that “he emotionally depicts the sky of Corfu and presents the horizon full of atmosphere.”[19] In the following years (1907-09), he participated in three exhibitions of the Artistic Society at Zappeion, and in 1915 in the Exhibition of the Association of Greek Artists. In 1907-08, he also worked on the decoration of the “Achilleion” in Gastouri, Corfu, once the villa of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898), which Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany acquired in 1907 and, with the help of Ernst Ziller (1837-1923), made modifications and reused until 1914. In 1918, he organized a major solo exhibition at the GEO hall in Athens with 161 works. In 1920, he exhibited his works in Paris at the Georges Petit gallery. Finally, in 1922, he exhibited in Alexandria, Egypt, at the San Stefano gallery, and in 1924-25, he traveled to Switzerland where he painted Chillon Castle in Montreux.[20] He died in his island home in 1939, where he contributed through various associations (Workers’ Brotherhood, 1911-1923; Corfu Port Committee, 1924-1927; Corfu Philharmonic Society “Old,” 1926-1931; he also served multiple times as a municipal councilor until 1935), and he never recovered from the death of his first child, Nella-Florence, in 1925 at the age of 25. A retrospective exhibition of his work was organized in Corfu in 1970, in the National Gallery in 1974 by Dimitris Papastamos, and in 2019 at the Central Corfu Municipal Gallery in collaboration with the “Angelos Giallinas Gallery” Foundation, under the subtitle: “With light and color of Corfu” (edited by Marina Papasotiriou). The National Gallery had not purchased any of his works until 1939,[21] while today a landscape is displayed in its main building, and it has a total of 17 of his works. In 1992, his house became a gallery housing 594 of his works, but in 2010 it was revealed that it had been vandalized, with 15 of his works missing, some of which were found in 2016. His works are held in museums in Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, the Royal Palaces of England and Greece, the Rhodes Gallery, the Bank of Greece Collection, the Leventis Collection, among others.

Angelos Giallinas was perhaps the most beloved painter of his time,[22] managing to “emerge early and effortlessly,”[23] with the highest sales of his works both inside and outside Greece.[24] He managed to capture the liquid element with exceptional skill, thanks to his impeccable use of the most free and airy technique of watercolor and his astute selection of the locations he depicted. The academic and art history professor Chrysanthos Christou emphasizes his freedom from any academic constraints and the emphasis on the color and painting values of his work.[25] As Manolis Vlahos notes, “He rendered the seascape with delicacy and sensitivity.[26] His works, while seemingly influenced by French Impressionism with an emphasis on light changes and atmospheric rendering,[27] also retain a strong poetic disposition and sensitivity reminiscent of the Italian art of his time, incorporating elements of the lightness and grace of English watercolor, as noted by his fellow critic Photos Yofyllis.[28] Giallinas is well-versed in the atmosphere of 19th-century Romanticism and the marine breeze with which he often envelops his landscapes, managing to “express more the texture and inner character of the place, without insisting on detailed narrative elements,” as T. Spiteris emphasizes.[29] Through his landscapes, like the English and German Romantic landscape painters, he conveys a mental state, aiming to capture the poetry and soul of nature,[30] intending to evoke emotion through the power of beauty.[31] In this way, he reveals the characteristic element of the place he depicts, the genius loci, a concept aptly noted by his first scholar, Theodoros Vellianitis.[32] He also captures archaeological findings and the “beautiful ruins,” as Odysseas Elytis called them, in a manner that conveys the freshness emanating from their recent discovery, as well as nearly all the major monuments with the same always-fresh gaze.[33] In addition to coastal landscapes, he also captures, with the same technical skill and chromatic ease, traditional costumes, ethnographic images from rural life, architectural monuments, and traditional houses of Corfu, as well as panoramic views of the beautifully structured old city of the island, and many views of the “Achilleion.” His works exhibit clarity, harmonious color balances, soft outlines, and atmospheric light—the characteristic of the Mediterranean—though at times the tones may become sweet and reminiscent of postcards. As Alexandros Philadelphus would observe, despite the reasonable flaws resulting from his particularly high productivity due to numerous commissions, one never encounters “a cowardly use of color or technical ignorance in his works. Instead, life triumphs everywhere, which his palette conveys in myriad ways.”[34] Nonetheless, Giallinas’ style was standardized by many lesser-known students of his, and it was reproduced multiple times in postcards (Postcards) by the well-known printing company of Corfu “Aspiotis-ELKA,”[35] resulting in them appearing unjustly monotonous, perhaps due to their popularity and widespread dissemination. As Dimitris Papastamos highlights in the retrospective exhibition of his work at EPMAS in 1974, the watercolors of the greatest watercolorist of the first half of the 20th century in Greece—and undoubtedly one of the greatest internationally—are “the poetic translation and artistic transfer of the world of simple things and noble impressions, the enchanting contribution to the nostalgia of a world, of an era that has passed.”[36]

Anestis Melidonis

Art Historian

Scientific Collaborator of the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation

[1] See Manolis Chatzidakis, “Praise of Corfu. The Pioneering Role of Corfu in the Evolution of Modern Greece,” Kathimerini – Seven Days, special edition “Corfu,” ed. V. Stavrakas, vol. E’ “Ionian Islands,” Athens 1996, pp. 4, 10, 12.

[2] Tonis Spiteris, Three Centuries of Modern Greek Art 1660-1967, vol. A’, Athens 1979, p. 318.

[3] Giannis S. Pieris, “Angelos Giallinas, the Leading Greek Watercolorist,” in Angelos Giallinas. With Light & Color of Corfu, ed. Marina Papasotiriou, Municipal Gallery of Corfu 2019, p. 17.

[4] Theodoros Vellianitis, “Angelos Giallinas,” Ta Olympia, issue 30, 2/6/1896, p. 237.

[5] Th. Vellianitis, “Angelos Giallinas,” Estia, issue 8, 1893, p. 113.

[6] K. Dafnis, “Giallinas: A Painter Who Was Exalted by Europe,” Ta Nea, 10/3/1969, p. 7.

[7] Dimitris Papastamos, Averoff Gallery, Metsovo 1991, pp. 25-26.

[8] Giannis S. Pieris, op. cit., p. 18.

[9] See George Carter, The Painter Georgios S. Samartzis, Athens 1997, pp. 57-61.

[10] See Th. Vellianitis, “Angelos Giallinas,” Estia, op. cit., p. 111.

[11] Ibid., p. 113.

[12] Giannis S. Pieris, op. cit., p. 18.

[13] See Ionian Artists of the 18th and 19th Century, edited by Manos Stefanidis, EPMAS 1993.

[14] Fotos Giophyllis, “Angelos Giallinas,” Nea Estia, vol. 59, issue 689, 15/3/1956, p. 370.

[15] Giannis S. Pieris, op. cit., p. 18.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Kostas Baroutas, The Visual Arts Life and Aesthetic Education in 19th Century Athens, Athens 1990, p. 136.

[18] Ibid., p. 123.

[19] Theodoros Vellianitis, “Then and Now. The Soul of the Landscapes,” Empros, 17/12/1925, p. 1.

[20] Marina Papasotiriou, “Street of Painter Angelos Giallinas” in Angelos Giallinas. With Light & Color of Corfu, op. cit., p. 33.

[21] K. Dafnis, op. cit. The interpretation that his work was undervalued due to the technique of watercolor, which was not considered on par with others, is unfounded, as many established artists before Giallinas had used it, such as Albrecht Dürer, William Blake, Carl Rottmann, Edward Lear, William Turner, William “Grecian” Williams, Christian Hansen, as well as significant modern Greek painting artists such as Gerasimos Pitzamanos, Athanasios Iatridis, Georgios Margaritis, Polychronis Lempesis, Eleni Altamoura, Stamatis Voulgaris, and Grigorios Soutzos with the first seascape of modern Greek painting titled View of Piraeus.

[22] Theodoros Vellianitis, “Angelos Giallinas“, Ta Olympia, op. cit., p. 238.

[23] Comment by Roidis in 1896.

[24] Antonis Kotidis, Greek Art, 19th Century Painting, Athens 1995, p. 248.

[25] Chrysanthos Christou, Greek Painting 1832-1922, Athens 1993, p. 83.

[26] Manolis Vlahos, Greek Seascapes and the European Maritime Image, Athens 1993, p. 150.

[27] Athanasios Christou, Corfiot Painters of the 19th and 20th Century, Corfu 199-, p. 8.

[28] F. Giophyllis, op. cit., p. 371.

[29] Tonis Spiteris, op. cit., p. 322. Spiteris will recognize in Giallinas and Odysseas Fokas two of the “first painters who viewed the Greek landscape with a different vision” (op. cit., vol. B’, p. 35).

[30] Theodoros Vellianitis, “Then and Now. The Soul of the Landscapes“, op. cit., p. 1.

[31] The same, “Angelos Giallinas,” Ta Olympia, op. cit., p. 237.

[32] The same, “Angelos Giallinas,” Estia, op. cit., p. 115.

[33] Marina Papasotiriou, op. cit., p. 30.

[34] Alexandros Philadelphus, “Artistic Exhibition,” Parnassos, vol. 13, issue A, January-February 1890, p. 265.

[35] Giallinas is also among the first Greek painters to use photographic shots for study, which he took himself.

[36] Angelos Giallinas (1857-1939), ed. Dimitris Papastamos, EPMAS 1974.