Odysseas Phokas ( el, Οδυσσέας Φωκάς; 1857 – 1946) was a Greek

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, whose work focused on landscape painting.

Biography

He was born in what is now Romania at 1857 and in 1876 he left for France to study Law in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, according to his parents' wishes. Later he began his studies on painting at the Open Academies of Paris with teachers such as Karl Cartier (1855-1925) and

Raphael Collin Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

(1850-1916). At 1885 he moved to Athens and began working as an artist at the magazine ''

To Asty ''To Asty'' (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 assume ...

'' and at the newspaper ''

Akropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

''. At the Olympic competition of 1888 he was awarded with the bronze medal, and he competed again at 1896. At the 1900 Paris World Fair he was awarded again with the bronze medal. From 1900 until 1940, he took part in many art exhibitions in Athens. At 1902 he exhibited his works at Smyrna, while at 1905 and at 1909 he did exhibitions in Alexandria. From 1907 up until 1910 he lived, for family reasons, in Romania, where he also exhibited his works. From 1915 until his death, he worked as curator and art restaurateur at the

National Gallery of 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 ...

Artistic work

Phokas, even if he studied under representators of the French Academism Movement, with his works he is credited amongst many others as an ambassador of Impressionism in Greece. His Landscape paintings are noted for their sensitivity and their diffused light, which contrasts the darkness of the Academists. Main sources of his artworks were landscapes of Attica and Romania. At 1917 and at 1919 he took part in the exhibits of the

Nikolaos Lytras Nikolaos Lytras ( el, Νικόλαος Λύτρας; Athens, 2 May 1883 – 1 December 1927)Brie ...

' team "Tehni" , however, without ever becoming a member of the team. From 1915 until the end of his life he worked at the National gallery of Athens, in which with his will passed on all his properties along with his own private art collection.

References

{{Authority control 1857 births 1946 deaths Impressionism People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia Expatriates in France 19th-century Greek painters 20th-century Greek painters Greek landscape painters