Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (; February 26, 1906 – September 3, 1994), also known as Niko Ghika, was a leading
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 ...
painter, sculptor, engraver, writer and academic. He was a founding member of the Association of Greek Art Critics, AICA-Hellas,
International Association of Art Critics
The International Association of Art Critics (''Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art'', ''AICA'') was founded in 1950 to revitalize critical discourse, which suffered under Fascism during World War II. Affiliated with UNESCO AICA was ad ...
.
He studied ancient and
Byzantine art
Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...
as well as folk art due to his adoration for the Greek landscape. During his youth he was exposed in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to the
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
European artistic trends and he gained recognition as the leading Greek
cubist artist.
His aim was to focus on the harmony and purity of
Greek art
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods (with further developments during the Hellenistic Period). It absorbed influences of ...
and to deconstruct the Greek landscape and intense natural light into simple geometric shapes and interlocking planes.
His works are featured in the
National Gallery (Athens)
The National Gallery ( el, Εθνική Πινακοθήκη, ''Ethniki Pinakothiki'') is an art museum located on Vasilissis Sofias avenue in the Pangrati district, Athens, Greece. It is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century ...
, the
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
in London, the
Metropolitan Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
of New York and in private collections worldwide.
Biography
Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas was born 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 ...
in 1906. His father was the admiral
Alexandros Hadjikyriakos, and his mother Princess Eleni
Ghika
The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...
. His father During his teen years (1918–1922) his family recognised the potential of his talent and arranged for him to study painting with the artist Parthenis. In 1923 he went to Paris to study French Literature and Aesthetics at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
University. During his first months in Paris he participated in an exhibition that took place in the '. In 1924 he continued his studies in painting and engraving at the '. In 1927 he had his first exhibition at '.
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
himself noticed and commented the works of the young Greek artist.
In 1933 he organised in Athens the 4th International Architectural Symposium. In 1934 he arranged another exhibition of his paintings and sculptures in the
Gallerie des Cahiers d' Art and in the international exhibitions of Paris and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
. From 1935 to 1937 he was co-editor of the art magazine ''3rd Eye''. In 1941 he was offered a position in the Architectural School of the
National Technical University of Athens
The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...
. In 1949 he formed, with other artists including
Yiannis Moralis
Yiannis Moralis ( el, Γιάννης Μόραλης; also transliterated Yannis Moralis or Giannis Moralis; 23 April 1916 – 20 December 2009) was an important Greek visual artist and part of the so-called "Generation of the '30s".
Life
B ...
,
Yannis Tsarouchis
Yannis Tsarouchis ( el, Γιάννης Τσαρούχης; 13 January 1910 – 20 July 1989) was a Greek modernist painter and set designer who achieved international fame, and was "known in particular for his homoerotic subjects," including so ...
,
Nikos Nikolaou
Nikos Nikolaou ( el, Νίκος Νικολάου) (1909–1986) was a major figure in Greek art during the 20th century.
In 1929 Nikolaou was admitted into the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he studied under Konstantinos Parthenis and Umberto ...
,
Nikos Engonopoulos
Nikos Egonopoulos ( el, Νίκος Εγγονόπουλος; October 21, 1907 – October 31, 1985) was a Greek painter and poet. He is one of the most important members of "Generation of the '30s",Eleni Kefala''Peripheral (Post) Modernity'' ...
and
Panayiotis Tetsis
Panayiotis Tetsis (Greek: Παναγιώτης Τέτσης; 1925 – 5 March 2016) was a Greek painter. Tetsis was an exponent of the post-impressionistic seascape tradition.
Life and work
Born in 1925 on the island of Hydra, where he spen ...
, the "Armos" art group. In 1950 he was the Greek participant at the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
where he exhibited 17 of his paintings.
During 1950-1968 he organised twelve exhibitions in Athens, Paris, London (
Whitechapel Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...
),
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and New York.
In 1961 he married Barbara Hutchinson, who had previously been married to
Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild (31 October 1910 – 20 March 1990) was a British banker, scientist, intelligence officer during World War II, and later a senior executive with Royal Dutch Shell and N M Rothschild & Son ...
and to classicist
Rex Warner
Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English classicist, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum Inte ...
.
In 1973 he became a member of the
Athens Academy
The Academy of Athens ( el, Ακαδημία Αθηνών, ''Akadimía Athinón'') is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, with its founding principle traces back to the ...
and in 1986 a member of the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in London. He was also a member of the
Tiberiana Academy in Rome and was granted the title of
Officier des Arts et des Lettres from the
French government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
.
In 1988 he had his last exhibition at the
Royal Academy of London
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
. His wife, Barbara, died in 1989. He died on September 3, 1994, in Athens.
![Tomb of Ghikas family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Tomb_of_Ghikas_family.jpg)
Today in Greece he is celebrated as one of the most important modern Greek painters. His house has been converted to a museum and is being run by the
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the ...
. In 2018, the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
hosted an exhibition
which focuses on the friendship of Ghika, the artist
John Craxton
John Leith Craxton RA, (3 October 1922 – 17 November 2009) was an English painter. He was sometimes called a neo-Romantic artist but he preferred to be known as a "kind of Arcadian".
Biography
Career
John was the son of musician Harold ...
, and the writer
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...
; their shared love of Greece was fundamental to their work.
References
Further reading
* Derycke, Jean-Pierre. "Ghikas and avant-garde in interwar Europe" (
Ephesos
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in ...
Press, Athens 2004) Benaki Museum.
*
* Loukaki, Argyro
Cultural and Physical Space as a Condition of Artistic Vision: The Aegean in Greek Artists Maleas, Ghikas and Tetsis in ''Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 8.'' Ed. S. V. Mal’tseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova, A. V. Zakharova. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Univ. Press, 2018, pp. 476–484. ISSN 2312-2129.
*
* "Drawings by Nikos Chatzikyriakos-Ghikas for
Kazantzakis'
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
" (ADAM Press, Athens 1990). Nikos Chatzikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery,
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the ...
.
"DIMITRIS PIKIONIS 1887 - 1968", (Bastas-Plessas Publications, Athens 1994)
* 'Contemporary Relations between Painting, Sculpture, Architecture', Ghika,
''X'' magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, Nov 1959; A Pine Tree; The Innermost Flesh of Vital Space, Ghika,
''X'' magazine, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 1961.
External links
;Museums
Benaki Museum(English)
of
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
Municipal Galleryof
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
Municipal Galleryof
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...
;Online galleries
Paleta Online GalleryBritish Government Art Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadjikyriakos
1906 births
1994 deaths
Greek art critics
Members of the Academy of Athens (modern)
Greek icon painters
20th-century Greek painters
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
University of Paris alumni
Artists from Athens
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy
National Technical University of Athens faculty