Biography
After the emergence in the second half of the 19th century of Ioannis Vitsaris (1843/4-1892) and Giannoulis Halepas (1851-1938), two groundbreaking creators—especially with the borderline case of the latter—Greek sculpture began to transcend neoclassical models and embrace Romanticism, aiming for a higher aesthetic emotion.[1] Among the most prominent Greek sculptors of the 20th century, who draw from local tradition and the new realistic teachings, which they synthesize with the Romanticism of the previous generation, are Christos Kapralos (1909-1993) and Thanasis Apartis (1899-1972), as well as Yiannis Pappas (1913-2005), Giorgos Zongolopoulos (1901-2004), Memos Macris (1913-1993), and Nikos Perantinos (1910-20/7/1991).[2] N. Perantinos, born in Athens to the Parian Leandros Perantinos[3] and the Syros-born Angeliki, daughter of Achilleas Metaxas, would receive the beneficial influence of his mother to follow the path of artistic creation. He completed his general studies at the famous Hill School in Plaka,[4] which was also attended by the first Greek female painter with academic studies, Eleni Altamoura (1821-1900). From 1928 to 1933, he studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, under Thomas Thomopoulos (1873-1937) and Konstantinos Dimitriadis (1879-1943). At the School, he distinguished himself in the sculpture composition competition in 1932, and the following year he was awarded the Chrysovergeio Prize. He learned the secrets of marble carving from the eminent marble craftsman Eleftherios Panousis and spent two consecutive years alongside Michalis Tompros (1889-1974) in the latter’s workshop on Stournara Street, for which he felt deep gratitude. As he confessed about M. Tompros: “I cannot repay what I learned during those two years of apprenticeship with the master.”[5]
He made his first appearance showcasing his work at the “Free Artists” exhibition in 1935 at the Philological Society “Parnassos,” where the Ministry purchased a piece depicting the Head of a Youth. The following year, he participated in the same group’s exhibition, this time at the “Stratigopoulou” Gallery, where his work stood out once again. The art critic Dionysis Kokkinos emphasized that with the marble head of a girl he exhibited, “he adds to the select group of young sculptors. Stylized using elements provided by the hair, with a symmetrical volume and an expression that reveals a spiritual disposition, it is a sculptural piece that demonstrates talent.”[6] He also participated in the Venice Biennale in 1936, the same year he met his future wife, Olympia Papatriantafyllou, whom he would also portray in his works. In 1937, he took part in the Panhellenic Exhibition, as well as in the Panhellenic Exhibitions of 1939 (in which the Ministry purchased his work Head of a Dancer, and he received the state sculpture award – bronze medal), 1957, 1969 (where his work Dance was purchased), and 1971. In 1940, one of his works was exhibited at the Municipal Theater of Piraeus. In 1941, he was appointed sculptor at the National Archaeological Museum. At the Museum, he carried out significant work restoring imposing ancient sculptures, such as the following: Kouros of Sounion, Bronze Horse of Artemisium, Aristodikos, Kouros of Milos, Funerary Sphinx, Youth of Eleusis, Seated Female Figure. He maintained his workshop during the interwar period at 2 Athenionos Street.[7] Later, he moved to 14 Euphorionos Street in Pangrati.
In 1946, he participated in the exhibition of the Hellenic-French Youth Union at the French Institute, as well as in the International Artistic Exhibitions in Stockholm and Cairo. From 1947 to 1951, he studied at the free Julian Academy and at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, where he was a scholarship recipient from the French government, following a competition held by the French Academy of Athens. There, he worked in the studio of the prominent sculptor Marcel Gimond (1894-1961) and apprenticed under Alfred Janniot (1889-1969) and Anry Dropsy (1885-1969), with the latter specializing in medals. During his stay in Paris, he participated in the Exhibition of the National Union of Fine Arts in 1948, as well as in the Autumn Salons of that year and the following. Finally, he took part in the exhibition of the Salon of the Union of French Artists in 1949, where he was awarded the bronze medal for Olympia, modeled after his wife. In the same exhibition, the French Ministry purchased his work Girl of Paros, which was placed in the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Meanwhile, he traveled to England, Spain, and Italy.
Upon his return to Athens, he continued to work at the Archaeological Museum. In 1955, he participated in the Alexandria Biennale with the work “Trunk.” The following year, he again took part in the Venice Biennale, exhibiting the works “Olympia” and “Trunk of a Girl.” Starting in 1957, he began to participate in international medal exhibitions, first in Paris, and in the following years in Vienna (1959), Rome (1961), the Netherlands (1963), Athens (1966), Paris (1967), Madrid (1968), Prague (1969), Berlin (1971), and Helsinki (1973), as well as Krakow (1975). He also participated in the exhibition of contemporary Greek artists in Bucharest (1962), the exhibition of Greek artists for Cyprus (1964, at the House of Letters and Arts, Athens), the First Mediterranean Biennale in Alexandria (1965), and the First Sculpture Biennale in Filothei (1966). Additionally, he took part in exhibitions of contemporary Greek art in Buenos Aires (1965), Bulgaria (1966), and Geneva (1967). In 1971, he participated in an exhibition organized in London (Upper Grosvenor Galleries) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, showcasing a bust of Lord Byron, as well as in an exhibition for the same anniversary in Athens (at the Philological Society “Parnassos”). In 1973, he was awarded the First Prize in Fine Arts.[8] In 1974, he established a sculpture school in Paros, offering free lessons to young people on the island in the workshop he maintained in Agia Anna, Parikia. In 1976, he took part in the Panhellenic Sculpture Exhibition in Thessaloniki, and the following year in the International Exhibition of the Union of Fine Arts in Athens. Finally, in 1978, he participated in the Panhellenic Sculpture Exhibition in Filothei and the following year in the “Sculpture in Faliro” exhibition. Overall, he participated in 26 group exhibitions in Greece and 31 international exhibitions abroad.[9] In 1991, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Award of Fine Arts from the Academy of Athens. Before he passed away, he donated his 192 sculptures to Marpissa, Paros, where the Nikos Perantinos Museum now operates in a renovated neoclassical building that was inaugurated in 2009. He was a member of artistic committees of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Culture, president of the Union of Greek Sculptors, a member of the jury of the Municipal Gallery of Piraeus, the International Federation of Contemporary Medalists, and the artistic jury of the Chamber of Fine Arts.
The sculptor’s works in public spaces are numerous (86 works) and it is rather impossible to mention them all here. These include dozens of busts,[10] monuments,[11] statues,[12] medals,[13] and heroons.[14] According to St. Lydakis, he is ranked among the most significant creators of heroes from the 1930s generation, alongside Michalis Tombros, Dimitris Ferentinos, Vasos Falireas, George Zoggolopoulos, Lazaros Lameras, and others.[15] Towards the end of his life, the culmination of his productive 60-year creative period includes the works: “Youth,” which was erected in 1989 near the Panathenaic Stadium (at the intersection of Euforionos and Eratosthenes), and “Mnemosyne,” located at the junction of Vasilissis Amalias and Vasilissis Olgas in Athens (a replica of the same sculpture was installed at the European Court in Luxembourg), facing the monument for Lord Byron, as well as the “Resting Athlete,” at the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. His works are also found in many museums and collections.[16]
Perantinos was characterized as the last marble sculptor by Stelios Lydakis, as he remained faithful to classical teachings, striving for a sculpture that would adhere to ancient standards while simultaneously revealing and harmonizing with the beauty of its material. Angelos Prokopiou aptly described Perantinos as a sculptor who “longs for certainty and monumental tranquility.”[17] Lydakis places him in the genealogical line of the most prominent modern Greek sculptors who worked with marble, starting from Dimitris Kossos (1817-1873), the Phytalides brothers (four brothers with prominent sculptors George –1830-1901– and Lazaros –1831-1909–), and Dimitris Philippotis (1839-1919), reaching the “marble eater,” as he describes him, George Bonanos (1863-1940), and Thomas Thomopoulos, inspired by an “eclectic humanism, which is why many of his works have an idealistic texture.”[18] Giannis Miliadis will emphasize his comfort in shaping anatomically accurate busts, noting that he “knows the formation of the skull well and successfully exploits the triangle between the cheekbones and the chin, towards which slanted planes tend,” while, despite the standardization of intensity he gives to the facial features, he knows how to handle “the subtle play of small surfaces on the softness of the face,” bestowing an impressionistic sweetness to the visage.[19] Tonis Spiteris will highlight the gentleness and amiability of his character, emphasizing that he was “sweet-spoken and modest, never wanting to organize a solo exhibition.”[20] An indefatigable creator of portraits, his entire body of work proves him to be a master portraitist, both in busts and medals.[21] He himself stated with self-awareness in the last album published a year before his death: “Creative effort is an endless journey, just like knowledge. It has only a beginning; it has no end or milestones. It is at once also a pain, kindled by the reminder of that melancholic ars longa, vita brevis…”[22] If his studies in France brought him closer to the work of Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), with whom he matched both in temperament and due to his apprenticeship under M. Tombros, it is a fact that the abstract tendencies in his work do not bypass form, and as Lydakis emphasizes, represent a trend that has its early manifestations in the Greek space already in the prehistoric period, with Cycladic figurines, and in the historical context, with geometric art.[23] In this extraordinarily long line of creation, Nikos Perantinos continues unwavering, believing, as he states in an interview in 1951 for an English-language magazine (translated by us) that “sculpture must deal with mass in solid synthetic constructions that do not affect the simplicity of the line, but like a rhythm, invest the idea in form.”[24]
Anestis Melidonis
Art Historian
Scientific Collaborator of the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation
[1] See the introduction by Sp. Panagiotopoulos in N. Perantinos. Sculpture, Athens 1975, p. 5.
[2] Alexander G. Xydis, “Some aspects of Greek painting & sculpture today,” Portfolio VI, Greece, 1947.
[3] Nikos Perantinos. 1910-1991. Sculpture. 192 sculptures and reliefs donated to the island of Paros, the island of marble and sculpture, Paros 2001, p. 5.
[4] Evdokia Papouli-Dimitropoulou, “Nikos Perantinos. 1910-1991,” in op. cit., p. 6.
[5] Mavreta Joakimides, “Nikos Perantinos. Master of simplicity and the classical form,” Athene, vol. 12, no. 3, Fall 1951, p. 8.
[6] D. A. Kokkinos, “Union ‘Free Artists’. Second annual exhibition,” Nea Estia, no. 223, April 1936, p. 511.
[7] Dimitris Pavlopoulos, From the Sacred Band to Konstantinos the 12th. Modern Athenian Sculptures, Athens 2020, p. 86.
[8] The award was declined by artists Alekos Kontopoulos and Klearchos Loukopoulos in protest against the regime, while Giorgos Varlamos also refused the state grant for the same reason (see Chroniko ’73. Annual publication of critical updates, Artistic Spiritual Center “Ora,” p. 116).
[9] Dimitris Pavlopoulos, “The sculpture of N. Perantinos,” Greek Marble, no. 92, December 1991, p. 70.
[10] P. Kallieros, Paros 1952; Christoforos Kokkinis, St. George Square, Nafplio, 1953; P. Skagiopoulos, Skagiopouleio Orphanage, Patras, 1954; Makedonomachou Lamprou Koromila, central park of Thessaloniki, 1954; Plutarchou, Chaireon Square, Livadia, 1955; G. Pakar, Anthili Square, Lamia, 1956; Aristotle, Higher War School Thessaloniki, 1957; E. Kanellopoulou, First Cemetery of Athens, 1957; G. Zarifi, Pedagogical Academy of Alexandroupolis, 1961; Tr. Karadasi, University of Thessaloniki, 1967; G. Sotiriou, Spetses, 1969; G. Oikonomou, Research Center, Athens, 1971; Str. Aliprantis, Marpissa Paros, 1973; D. Kokkinos, Tower of Ilia, 1973; G. Koulouri, Sifnos 1973; M. Kalomiri, National Opera House 1973; Plato, Academy of Plato, 1973; Emm. Sangrioti, Paros, 1974; K. Chairopoulos, K. Chairopoulos Square, Athens, 1974; G. Argiropoulos, Paros, 1975; A. Ragousi, Paros, 1976; Iphigenia, Sina Street, Academy of Athens, 1976; Aristotle and Megalos Alexandros, International Foundation for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Geneva, 1977; Euripides, Pella, 1977; O. Lappa, Lyric Scene, Athens, 1977; Hippocrates, Phedemonte Hospital, America; Freeman, Ioannina Gallery; Maria Callas, Kalamata Gallery, etc.
[11] Family of S. Krassas, Third Cemetery of Athens, Kokkinia, 1946; Gustaf Dolen, Sweden, 1955; G. Oikonomou, First Cemetery of Athens, 1955; family of D. Mourmouri, First Cemetery of Athens, 1959; mother of Kolokotronis Zampia Kotsaki, Alonistaina Arkadias, 1978.
[12] Greek Tsolias – First prize of the Panhellenic Artistic Competition – King Constantine Square/Park, Lamia, 3 m. height, 1964; Emm. Pappas, Freedom Square, Serres, 3 m. height, 1966 – included in the commemorative series of stamps featuring fighters of 1821 in 1969; N. Stella, Marpissa Paros, 1966.
[13] 20 drachmas coin, 1960; for the 50th anniversary of the Academy of Athens, 1976; commemorative, artistic group of Chios 1977; for the 50th anniversary of the magazine Nea Estia 1977; Municipality of Alexandroupolis 1977; “Great Absentees” of the 20th century, including Maria Callas, 1978; 50 years of Anargyrios and Korgialenios School, Spetses, 1978; M. Stasinopoulos 1978; gold coin of 10,000 drachmas on the occasion of Greece’s entry into the EEC, 1979, etc.
[14] Fallen of Megalos Alexandros, Higher War School Thessaloniki, 1957; Fallen in the central square of Paroikia Paros, 4 m. height, 1958; Fallen of the Municipality of Kallithea – First Prize of the Panhellenic Artistic Competition – 5 m. total height, 1959; Fallen of the community of Aetos Florina – First Prize of the Panhellenic Artistic Competition – 1961; Fallen of the community of Papadianika Lakonias, 1961; of the Third National Assembly in Troezen, 1962; Fallen of Agios Andreas Kynourias, 1968; Fallen of the community of Adendro Thessaloniki – First Prize of the Panhellenic Artistic Competition – 1972; Fallen of urban police, Marousi, 1974; Community of Anthofytos Nafpaktias, 1976; Chalkoutsis Oropos, 1976; Community of Lefkadiotians, Roumeli, 1977, etc.
[15] Stelios Lydakis, The Neo-Hellenic Sculpture, Athens 1981, p. 251.
[16] EPMAS, Municipal Gallery of Athens, Ministry of Education, Municipal Gallery of Rhodes, Ministry of Education of France, Archaeological Museum of the University of Mississippi, Archaeological Society of Athens, Higher War School Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Collection of Prof. Ioannis Polygenis Athens, University of Athens, Arsakeion, Ioannina Gallery, Municipal Gallery of Kalamata, Ministry of Culture Athens, John F. Kennedy Institute of Fine Arts Washington, Academy of Athens, Bank of France in Cairo, etc.
[17] See Kathimerini, 20/7/1957.
[18] See N. Perantinos. Sculpture II, Athens 1978, p. 20.
[19] Giannis Miliadis, “Plastic,” Zygos, no. 19-20, May-June 1957, p. 9.
[20] Tonis Spiteris, 3 Centuries of Modern Greek Art. 1660-1967, vol. II, Athens 1979, p. 243.
[21] See the relevant comments by St. Lydakis in Nikos Perantinos. Sculpture 1933-1990, Athens 1990, p. 43.
[22] Op. cit., p. 11.
[23] Op. cit., p. 45.
[24] Mavreta Joakimides, “Nikos Perantinos. Master of simplicity and the classical form,” Athene, vol. 12, no. 3, Fall 1951, p. 8.