21 - GERASSIMOS STERIS (1898-1987)

GERASSIMOS STERIS (1898-1987) La Grèce d'aujourd'hui et La Grèce du travail signé « Steris » (en bas à droite) huile sur toile contrecollé sur panneau dur 37 x 80 cm. (14.6 × 31.5 in.) Peint en 1937 oil on canvas mounted on hard panel Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, Paris and Athens. Exhibitions Athens, Benaki Museum, Steris, Works from the Koutoulakis Collection, May 23 - July 27, 2008, no. 153 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 272-273). In 1937, following a seminal trip across the USA, Steris was commissioned by the Greek government to decorate the Greek pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The artist prepared four huge panels depicting the history of Greek civilization under the eloquent title Modern Parthenon. These monumental paintings, which received positive reviews from leading art historians of the time, are now lost. A surviving preliminary oil on canvas is included in the sale.1 The artist himself provided lengthy descriptions, which can be summarised as follows: Modern Greece is the subject of the composition on the left. At the centre stands the figure of Pythagoras, an eternal symbol of Greek creation. Above him, a Nike symbolises New Greece, while a youth trumpets this victorious course. To the right are the immortal Plato and an Evzone, embodying the gallantry of the race. The composition is completed by Alexander the Great, the spirit of Attica crowned by the Acropolis, and, on the bottom right, Apelles painting the future of Greece. On the right, we see the Greece of labour. In the centre stands a sun-drenched young man, symbolising the working Greek people. Directly below stands the luminous spirit of education, while on the upper left, a figure represents reconciliation. On the bottom left are farmers, metallurgists, and builders, while on the right, a vigorous youth on horseback reminds us that work cannot exist without joy.2 The painting is distinguished by solid design and robust composition and is laden with symbolisms typical of Steris. Stylistically, however, it hardly recalls the lyrical character of the works he used to exhibit in Greece. On the contrary, it is akin to the potent expressionist symbolism of the Mexican muralists-particularly that of Clemente Orozco, whose murals Steris undoubtedly had the opportunity to see both in New York and during his travels to California and New Mexico in 1937. 1. See M Koumbarelou, 'Steris (1898-1987), an Artist with Various Identities' in Steris, Works from the Koutoulakis Collection, exhibition catalogue, Benaki Museum, Athens 2008, p. 41. 2. See Gerasimos Steris, Guelfo Ammon d'Este, 1898-1987, exhibition catalogue [in Greek], Elliniki Etairia, Argostoli 2001. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com