Page 371 - Beholding Liberty!
P. 371
HALL OF THE TROPHIES
ΙΙ.9.5
Theodoros Vryzakis (1819-1878) Consolation, 1856
oil on canvas, 45 x 58 cm
Hellenic Parliament Art Collection, inv. n. 329
SOLACE by Theodoros Vryzakis reflects the artist’s personal ordeal during the Greek War of Independence: His father was decapitated by the Turks in 1821, and the young Theodoros found himself in the Kapodistrias Orphanage in Aegina. In 1832 he left on scholarship to the Panhellen- ic boarding school for orphaned Greek children, founded by Ludwig I of Bavaria in Munich, where he went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. He established himself as the foremost Greek painter of the War of Independence, with iconic works such as The Exodus from Missolonghi, The
Reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi, The Kara- iskakis Army Camp, The Battle at Dervevakia, Grate- ful Hellas.
This painting features two seated female figures, a mother and daughter; the former comforts the latter, possibly for the loss of her husband in the war. This romantic theme is set against the typical background of the Acropolis in Athens, enabling the viewer to identify the location of the event. This image is one of a series of works that depict the sufferings of war and the sacrifices of the Greeks on the altar of independence.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The visual memoralization of the Struggle 371
