14 - Alecos Fassianos (Greek, 1935-2022) (AR)

Alecos Fassianos (Greek, 1935-2022) (AR) The Gold Olympic Champion, 1996 Oil on paper laid on canvas 21 x 50.5 cm. Frame: 34.50 x 64.80 cm. Signed in Greek Α. Φασιανός and titled in Greek «Ο χρυσός Ολυμπιονίκης». Executed circa 1996-1997 for Christos Iakovou, head coach of the Greek national weightlifting team and one of the leading figures behind the remarkable success of Greek weightlifting at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Under Iakovou’s leadership, the Greek team won five Olympic medals in Atlanta, including gold medals for Pyrros Dimas and Akakios Kakiasvili and silver medals for Leonidas Sabanis, Valerios Leonidis and Leonidas Kokkas. The subject of the present work, depicting a monumental golden weightlifter, directly evokes this celebrated period in Greek sporting history and the achievements of the national weightlifting team. Provenance Collection of Christos Iakovou.