Costas Valsamis (1908–2003) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He was born on the island of

Symi Symi, also transliterated as Syme or Simi ( el, Σύμη), is a Greek island and municipality. It is mountainous and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller localities, beaches, and areas o ...

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

, then in the Ottoman Empire and died in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Biography

In 1932 he entered the Athens School of Fine Arts where he studied under

Costas Dimitriadis Konstantinos Dimitriadis (Κωνσταντίνος Δημητριάδης) (1879 or 1881 - 28 October 1943) was a Greek sculptor who won a gold medal at the art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics for his sculpture ''Finnish discus thrower' ...

. Completing his studies in 1937, he worked as a sculptor in Athens until 1945, then was granted a scholarship by the French government. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the atelier of

Marcel Gimond Marcel Antoine Gimond (1894–1961) was a French sculpture, sculptor known for his busts, statues, and portraits in bronze. Biography Gimond was born in the Ardèche region of France. He first studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, ''Beaux-Art ...

then, at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere, he was a student of

Ossip Zadkine Ossip Zadkine (russian: Осип Цадкин; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Belarusian-born French artist. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born on ...

Awards

In 1979, he was nominated as a Knight in the Orders of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture and Communication of the French Government. In 1987, he became a member of the corresponding French Academy of Fine Arts.

Personal life

Valsamis was married to Zoe Valsamis, a painter and graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Creations

*Heroic Woman, plaster, Middelheimmuseum. *The Purity, bronze, Parc Montsouris. *The Mother in the occupation, bronze, the first cemetery of Athens. *

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

, bronze bust, Academias street, the square of the cultural center of Athens. *The Little Fisherman, bronze, Symi. *The Dove of Peace, Symi. *

C.P. Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...

, bronze bust, near the

Pedion tou Areos The Pedion tou Areos or Pedion Areos ( el, Πεδίον του Άρεως or Πεδίον Άρεως, , meaning ''Field of Ares'', corresponding to the French ''Champ de Mars'' and the ancient ''Campus Martius'') is one of the largest public parks ...

, Athens

Bibliography

*Benezit, Dictionary of Artists. *Dizionario Universale delle Belle Arti Comanducci.

References

External links

Some Works of the Artist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valsamis, Costas 1908 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Greek sculptors Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Symi