47 - GEORGIOS BOUZIANIS (1885-1959)

GEORGIOS BOUZIANIS (1885-1959) Manes Bild / Autoportrait Signé, inscrit et daté « Jo Busianis / Paris / 931 » (en bas à droite) ; signé et inscrit « Manes Bild » (sur le passe-partout) aquarelle et mine de plomb sur papier 63 x 48 cm. (24.80 × 18.90 in.) Peint en 1931 watercolor and graphite on paper Footnotes: Provenance Heinrich Barchfeld collection, Leipzig. Alexander Fischer collection, Munich. Private collection. Bonhams Greek Sale of 28 May 2020, lot 21. Acquired from the above sale by the current owner. Exhibitions Athens, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens Cultural Capital of Europe, Yorgos Bousianis, October 21 - December 8, 1985, no. 34 (discussed, p. 47, and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue). Athens, Municipal Gallery, Hommage Bouzianis, 1990 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 38). Literature Bouzianis Watercolours, 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 (catalogued), p. 97 (illustrated). This stunning portrait from the artist's Paris output (1929-1932)1 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 colour-that bestowed Bouzianis's noteworthy reputation among the European avant-garde in the 1920s. Reviewing the artist's 1928 exhibition at Barchfeld's in Leipzig, Dr. H. Hofmann argued that Bouzianis's watercolours confirm his status as one of the greatest artists of his time.3 1 Professor D. Deliyannis, who prepared the artist's monograph, uses this portrait to illustrate his point that 'during his Paris years, Bouzianis focused on diligently rendering the world of appearances-landscapes and faces-and on adapting to the requirements of the watercolour medium without lessening its dynamic quality.' D. Deliyannis, preface to Yorgos Bousianis, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery - Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens 1985, pp. 47, 57. 2 Alexander Fischer (1903-1981), who held Bouzianis in great admiration and respect, had in his possession a significant number of his works, of which he owned one or two and the rest (7 oils, 32 watercolours and 30 drawings) he held in trust, since WWII, on behalf of gallery owner in Leipzig and Bouzianis's lifetime supporter and soul mate Heinrich Barchfeld. After Fischer's passing in 1981, his inheritors sold almost all works to Greek collectors who brought most of them to Greece. Part of the Fischer collection was shown in the Bouzianis 1985 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, 6.9.1928. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR AR Marchandises soumises au droit de suite de l'artiste payable par l'acheteur. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com