Page 377 - Beholding Liberty!
P. 377
HALL OF THE TROPHIES
ΙΙ.9.10
Spyros Papanikolaou (1907-1986) The Exodus of Missolonghi
oil on cardboard, 48 × 56 cm
Averof Museum, Metsovo
SPYROS PAPANIKOLAOU studied sculp- ture and in 1937 went on to study painting, mainly focusing his production on landscapes and por- traits. This is a rare example of a historical paint- ing made at a time when the subject matter of the Greek Revolution was not very popular in modern Greek art. Yet even as an exception to the rule, this artwork attests to the enduring inspiration of the War for artists.
It is a generic depiction of the sortie from Misso- longhi, in plein-air style, which is a style commonly
found in Papanikolaou’s paintings. A few figures of fighters, facing front, in the foreground, and the blue and white flag with the cross, left, are neces- sary to identify the scene. The image is set with- in the walled city at the critical moment when its defenders open the gates to attempt their heroic sortie. The human figures are rendered as a vibrant group rushing to freedom. The collective nature of the Struggle and the universal self-sacrificing mood of the “free besieged” is highlighted picto- rially in this way.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The visual memoralization of the Struggle 377
