39 - MICHALIS ECONOMOU (1888–1933)

MICHALIS ECONOMOU (1888–1933) House by the Sea signed “M. Economou” (lower right) oil on canvas 50 x 61.5 cm. (19.7 × 24.2 in.) oil on canvas Footnotes: Provenance Dimitris Margaronis collection, Athens, and subsequently passed down to the current owner. This luminous painting of captivating charm showcases Economou’s ability to sense the pulse of the seaside landscape and distill its expressive potential and inherent poetry. Relying on swift, freely applied gestural brushstrokes, thick impasto, and deft handling of the palette knife and brush, the artist conveyed visual and tactile sensations that transformed an ordinary subject into a vision of humble monumentality. The eye is drawn into the picture through a barren patch of land in the foreground and then travels upward to the evocative adobe-like structure that dominates the pictorial space. As noted by artist G. Rorris, “this genuinely poetic painter turned his gaze to his homeland and rediscovered it in the small, shanty houses, in those ‘god-built’ structures, as architect Aris Konstantinidis would later call them.”1 As the composition unfolds, it reveals the unfathomable sea, inviting the viewer to delve into its mystery and magic. Rendered from a high vantage point that allows the artist to raise the horizon and extend the pictorial surface to the limits of the canvas, the cresting waters are rendered with energetic brushwork, as well as with glazes and transparencies that create a multitude of tones, showcasing the painter’s alchemy in working with colors. As noted by A. Kouria, who wrote the artist’s monograph, Economou’s fascination with color is clearly visible in his seascapes, which capture all the sea’s energy and perpetual movement. The composition of the subject—with its somewhat low perspective, emphasis on the foreground, and elevated horizon—allowed him to depict the sea as an autonomous subject rather than as part of a landscape.2 Exquisite in color and tone, and flawless in design and execution, Economou’s poetic visions were eagerly sought after as early as the late 1920s, finding their way into the prestigious collections of Antonis Benakis, Christos Loulis, and Georgios Stringos. 1. G. Rorris, “A Few Thoughts about Michalis Economou” in Michalis Economou, The Alchemy of Painting, exhibition catalog, E. Averoff Museum of Modern Greek Art, Metsovo—Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza Foundation, 2023, p. 237. 2. A. Kouria, Michalis Economou [in Greek], Adam editions, Athens 2001, pp. 31–32. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com