Efstathios Karousos ( el, Ευστάθιος Καρούσος; 1735/38 – 1818) also known as Eustathios Karousos, Efstathio Karousou ( el, Ευστάθιο Καρουσου, Eustacchio Caruso and Eustachio Caruso. He was a Greek painter and writer. He is one of the elite painters from the island of
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
. Other painters from the same region around the same period included
Andreas Karantinos and
Gerasimos Pitsamanos
Gerasimos Pitsamanos or Pitzamanos ( el, Γεράσιμος Πιτσαμάνος or Πιτζαμάνος; 6 March 1787 – 5 December 1825) was a Greek architect and portrait painter. Most of his known works are watercolors.
Biography
He was bo ...
. He was active in
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
, and other parts of Italy. Some of his paintings have survived. He is one of few Greek painters to have worked and lived outside of the Venetian Empire. Both Karousos and
Belisario Corenzio were active painters in Naples. Some of his work emulated the typical
Heptanese School. According to the
Institute of Neohellenic Research
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
, forty-nine of his works survived. Thirty-eight of his works are in the church
Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci.
History
Efstathios was born in
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
in the middle of the 18th century. Not much is known about his life. Luckily historians have a trail of artwork starting in the year 1750. He painted Saint
Dionysius. By the year 1756, he migrated to
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. He painted icons and frescos for
Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci. Famous Greek painter
Belisario Corenzio also painted for the same church. He was also a member of the Greek community in Naples. Efstathios's artwork in the church ranges from 1766 to 1795. In 1767, he painted some works in an Orthodox Church in the village of Villa Badessa in the region of
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
. Several years later, he wrote two books.
In 1775, Efstathios published ''Sonetti in Morte di Giorgio Corafan (Sonnets of Death by Giorgio Corafan)'' in Naples. His second book ''Sen Timenti di un Concittadino Delle Isole Ionie ai Suoi Con Cittadini (Feelings of a citizen of the Ionian Islands to his fellow citizens)'' was published in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
around 1802. Karousos eventually went to Trieste. Famous painter
Spyridon Sperantzas
Spyridon Sperantzas ( el, Σπυρίδων Σπεράντζας, 1733 – 1818) was a Greek painter. He flourished during the Greek Neoclassical era and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos.
Beca ...
was active in the region.
Spyridon Sperantzas
Spyridon Sperantzas ( el, Σπυρίδων Σπεράντζας, 1733 – 1818) was a Greek painter. He flourished during the Greek Neoclassical era and the Modern Greek Enlightenment in art also known as Neo-Hellenikos Diafotismos.
Beca ...
was associated with the
Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò dei Greci
The Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò dei Greci, Trieste, Italy, is a historical Greek Orthodox Church built in 1784-1787 and re designed by architect Matteo Pertsch. The building is also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicholas and M ...
in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
1784-1795. His family settled in the region. They became extremely wealthy and popular. Both his son Micheal and Grandson Spyridon were artists. The family painted for the Greek church and maintained the artwork.
Michael Sperantzas demanded 4000 fiorini to decorate the ceiling of the church.
San Nicolò dei Greci was forced to hire an Italian painter named Giacomo Granziosi. He finished the work for half the price. His helper was Efstathios Karousos. Efstathios's final work was the Relic of a
Saint Spyridon
Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348) is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions.
Life
Spyridon was born in Askeia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepher ...
. It was finished in 1818. The piece is in the church
San Biagio, Venice
San Biagio is a church dedicated to Saint Blaise, in the sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.
The church now stands adjacent to the Museo Storico Navale, and is officiated by a military chaplain. Till 1511, this served as the church ...
. He died in Venice.
[ Drakopoulou, 2016, pp 22-23]
Karousos's work was so unique eventually his style broke away from contemporary
Heptanese art of the Ionian Islands. The painter drew from the art of Naples and was heavily influenced by the Italian style.
Belisario Corenzio completed some work for the church
Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci and Karousos was exposed to it. Karousos in turn influenced Neapolitan art. Countless Italian and Greek painters were exposed to his work and adapted his style. Some of his signature poems were Ποίημα του ταπεινού καί ευσεβούς δούλου τοΰ Θεού Ευσταθίου τού Καρούσου τού έκ Κεφαλληνίας ορμώμενου (Poem of the humble and pious servant of God Efstathios of Karousos from
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
) and Ευστάθιος Καροΰσος Κεφαλληνιεύς έν Νεαπόλει έποίησε (Efstathios Karousos of
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
and Naples).
Gallery
Notable works
*ΘΚ and Anna, 1761 ''Collection of Tsakiroglou, Estia Nea Smyrni, Athens, Greece''
*Annunciation of ΘΚ 1781 ''Collection of Tsakiroglou, Estia Nea Smyrni, Athens, Greece''
*Eede O Anthropos (Ecce homo) ''
Byzantine and Christian Museum
The Byzantine and Christian Museum ( el, Βυζαντινό και Χριστιανικό Μουσείο, links=no) is situated at Vassilissis Sofias Avenue in Athens, Greece. It was founded in 1914, and houses more than 25,000 exhibits with rare ...
Athens Greece''
*
Entry of Christ into Jerusalem ''
Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci Naples, Italy''
References
Bibliography
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{{authority control
1735 births
1818 deaths
18th-century Greek painters
People from Cephalonia
19th-century Greek painters
19th-century Greek people
18th-century Greek writers
19th-century Greek writers
Greek Baroque painters
Painters of the Heptanese School