3 - NIKOLAOS GYSIS (1842–1901)

NIKOLAOS GYSIS (1842–1901) The Lost Soul signed “N. Gysis” (lower right) oil on canvas 44 × 36 cm. Painted c. 1898 oil on canvas 17.32 × 14.17 in. Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, Athens. Exhibitions Athens, Iliou Melathron (Schliemann Mansion), Etaireia Filotechnon, Exhibition of Works by Nikolaos Gysis (retrospective), March 15–May 15, 1928, no. 95 (possibly). A recent discovery, this exceptional allegorical portrait represents the fully realized oil-on-canvas version of Gysis’s celebrated *The Lost Soul*, previously known only through a preparatory charcoal drawing on paper held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery in Athens. As noted by art historian N. Misirli, who wrote the artist’s monograph, “to personify an idea, Gysis employed the human form, stripping it of its materiality and transforming it into a symbol that transcends time and spatial constraints. *The Lost Soul* articulates agonizing questions regarding the transience of this world, capturing the sense of melancholy and escapism that inspired the fin-de-siècle Symbolist artists, poets, and writers.”1 In the same vein, former National Gallery director M. Kalligas notes that *The Lost Soul* seems to probe into Gysis’s own inner self, conveying an expression of contemplation that is deeply personal, arising from the very depths of his individual existence. Gysis was deeply devoted to his homeland but felt unable to contribute to it as much as he desired. Moreover, his acceptance of a full professorship at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1888 effectively meant that his residence in Germany would become permanent. *The Lost Soul* perhaps encapsulates this internal struggle—a wandering soul suspended between Munich and Athens.2 Imbued with spiritual content akin to the visionary renderings of idealist painters such as Puvis de Chavannes and Arnold Böcklin, this sensitive work marks a nuanced shift from the visible to the invisible and draws the viewer into a transitory state where the soul is elevated to the world of ideas. 'A visionary by nature, Gysis was distinguished by an idealistic outlook on life, which was evident throughout his oeuvre. For him, “life had two aspects. One that the artist observed and perceived with his senses—such as daily events and life’s various episodes—and, at the same time, the one he envisioned: the intangible, eternal aspect that only a few sensitive souls can detect.”3 1. N. Misirli, Gysis [in Greek], Adam Editions, Athens 1995, p. 276. 2. See M. Kalligas, Nicholas Gysis [in Greek], National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Athens 1981, pp. 98, 168. 3. C. Lazos, “Nicholaos Gysis” [in Greek], Istoria magazine, no. 76, October 1974, p. 104. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com