One of the world’s most important modern Greek painters, Alekos Fassianos passed away on Sunday, 16 January. According to Athens News Agency (ANA), Fassianos, who was 86-years-old, died at his home after prolonged illness.
Fassianos was widely celebrated and recognised in Greece for his work. Many of his artistic works beautified public spaces, including a mural at an Athens subway station. He was even made an officer of the Legion of Honour and a commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. His artistic works were displayed and exhibited around Europe and Latin America.
However, in 2004, Fassianos last exhibition was a retrospective in Athens. The painter is survived by his wife, Mariza, and two daughters.
After the news about his demise went viral, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis took to his Twitter account and expressed his grief. He said that the legendary painter always balanced his work between realism and abstraction and the painter’s death leaves behind a precious heritage.
Η Ελλάδα δεν έχει πια μαζί της έναν μεγάλο καλλιτέχνη. Ο Αλέκος Φασιανός μάς αφήνει πολύτιμη κληρονομιά το έργο του. Μαζί με όλους τους Έλληνες αποχαιρετώ έναν φίλο. Μοιράζομαι τη μεγάλη θλίψη με την σύζυγο, τα δύο παιδιά του και τους δικούς του ανθρώπους. https://t.co/AljyMuIMDo pic.twitter.com/yyzhRRRTZl
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) January 16, 2022
Who was Alekos Fassianos?
Fassianos was born on 16 December, 1935 in Athens. During his early life, Fassianos studied violin at the Athens Conservatory and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
In the early 1960s, he put up his first exhibition following which he went to Paris on a French state scholarship. In Paris, he studied lithography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Even after finishing his studies, he ended up staying in Paris for nearly 35 years.
Although some of his paintings, especially the early ones, were in a contemporary style, he mostly drew inspiration from Greek popular art and Ancient Greek mythology. He was also inspired by Byzantine themes that primarily concerned religious and imperial characters. Although his colourful portraits have little to do with Byzantine austerity, it gained popularity and attention around the world.
Fassianos was not just known for his lithography and painting, but was also acknowledged for his illustrated books, ideas on designing theatre costumes as well as settings and experimenting in sculpture design.
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