Description
Biographical note: Born in Nicosia, 1884. He died in Cairo, 1956. Self-taught.
For a short period he worked with the icon-painter Theocharides. At the
age of fourteen he began travelling within Cyprus and started painting
icons. In 1907 he went to Athens and for a few months attended classes
in painting at the Polytechnic University as a listener. He travelled in Europe,
North Africa and the Middle East. From time to time, he lived in Athens
and in Cyprus. In 1923 he settled permanently in Egypt, where alongside
his rich literary work did painting as well. He did a lot of drawings in ink and
pastel and worked in water-colour and oil.
Three one-man exhibitions are known to us (1919, Limassol; 1929, Cairo and
Alexandria, Circle Hellénique). In 1981 the Cultural Services of the Ministry
of Education and Culture organised a retrospective exhibition of his work
in Nicosia, at Gloria Gallery.
His work can be found in public collections in Cyprus (State Gallery of Con-
temporary Cypriot Art, Municipal Gallery of Limassol, Limassol Metropolis,
The Nicosia Greek Schools’ Board of Governors) and in many private col-
lections in Cyprus, Greece and Egypt. His iconographic work can be
seen at the churches of Alona, Palaichori, Vasa Koilaniou, Saints Andronikos
and Athanasia in Limassol, John Prodromos in Larnaca and Panayia lamati-
ki in Platres.
Bibliography: The bibliography for his literary work is extensive. Nevertheless,
very few things have been written about his painting: Catalogues of
exhibitions in 1929 and 1981; Cypriot Artists, Chr. Andreou publications,
Nicosia 1982-1983; Nea Epochi magazine, vol. 211, Nov.-Dec. 1991.