Page 106 - Beholding Liberty!

I.2.34
William Page (1794-1879)
Greeks in dialogue, with ancient temple at the background, ca. 1816-24
wateroclour on paper, 20 x 26 cm
signed: W. Page. (bottom left)
Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
I.2.35
William Page (1794-1879)
A Greek in rest among ruins, ca. 1816-24
watercolour on paper, 26 x 20 cm
Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
THE BRITISH PAINTER William Page (1794-1879) travelled to Greece and to the Otto- man Empire between 1816 and 1824. Specifically, in Athens his presence is assured in 1818. Skilled in drawing, he specialised in the landscape paintings, the architecture and the human figures. The water- colours are distinguished for their clarity and the successful composition of shapes and landscapes.
In the signed painting, four Greeks converse in the foreground, the central figure of the standing skirt- bearer is dominant in the centre, with the exact depiction of his clothing and his intense gesture, while the other three, seated, are listening careful-
ly. The ancient temple in the background, possibly inspired by the temple of Poseidon in Sounio, re- minds the historic background of the Greeks, who among others are placed in a orientalistic frame, favourite to the European culture of the time.
In the composition with the Greek resting between the ruins, his figure is glancing at the open sea in the background, which completes the scenery, in which the vertical masses of the doric columns are dominant in the foreground: symbolically, the ancient heritage sheds its shadow, sometimes beneficially and others suffocatingly to the modern Greek becoming.
106 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!