47 - GEORGIOS BOUZIANIS (1885–1959)

GEORGIOS BOUZIANIS (1885–1959) Manes Bild / Self-Portrait Signed, inscribed, and dated “Jo Busianis / Paris / 931” (lower right); signed and inscribed “Manes Bild” (on the mat) watercolor and graphite on paper 63 x 48 cm. (24.80 × 18.90 in.) Painted in 1931 watercolor and graphite on paper Footnotes: Provenance Heinrich Barchfeld collection, Leipzig. Alexander Fischer collection, Munich. Private collection. Bonhams Greek Sale of May 28, 2020, lot 21. Acquired from the above sale by the current owner. Exhibitions Athens, National Gallery—Alexandros Soutzos Museum, “Athens: European Capital of Culture,” Yorgos Bousianis, October 21–December 8, 1985, no. 34 (discussed on p. 47 and illustrated in the exhibition catalog). Athens, Municipal Gallery, “Homage to Bouzianis,” 1990 (illustrated in the exhibition catalog, p. 38). Literature *Bouzianis Watercolors*, Agra Editions—The Friends of Bouzianis, Athens 1982, p. 86 (listed), p. 42 (illustrated). D. Deliyannis, Yorgos Bouzianis 1885–1959, Adam Editions, Athens 1996, no. 314, p. 296 (cataloged), p. 97 (illustrated). This stunning portrait from the artist’s Paris period (1929–1932)¹ was formerly in the collection of German sculptor Alexander Fischer,² with whom Bouzianis co-exhibited at the Chemnitz Kunsthütte in May 1927, demonstrates some of the key signature traits—swift rendering of the subject, fluidity of line, and pulsating spread of color—that earned Bouzianis a notable reputation among the European avant-garde in the 1920s. In a review of the artist’s 1928 exhibition at Barchfeld’s in Leipzig, Dr. H. Hofmann argued that Bouzianis’s watercolors confirm his status as one of the greatest artists of his time.³ 1 Professor D. Deliyannis, who compiled the artist’s monograph, uses this portrait to illustrate his point that “during his years in Paris, Bouzianis focused on diligently rendering the world of appearances—landscapes and faces—and on adapting to the requirements of the watercolor medium without diminishing its dynamic quality.” D. Deliyannis, preface to *Yorgos Bousianis*, exhibition catalog, National Gallery—Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens 1985, pp. 47, 57. 2 Alexander Fischer (1903–1981), who held Bouzianis in great admiration and respect, possessed a significant number of his works; of these, he owned one or two, while the rest (7 oil paintings, 32 watercolors, and 30 drawings) he had held in trust since World War II, on behalf of the Leipzig gallery owner and Bouzianis’s lifelong supporter and soul mate, Heinrich Barchfeld. After Fischer’s death in 1981, his heirs sold nearly all the works to Greek collectors, who brought most of them to Greece. Part of the Fischer collection was exhibited in the 1985 Bouzianis retrospective at the National Gallery in Athens. See George Bouzianis, Letters to H. Barchfeld [in Greek], National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Athens 1989, pp. 44, 305. 3 H. Hofmann, Leipziger Abendost daily, September 6, 1928. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR AR Items subject to the artist’s resale right, payable by the buyer. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com