Constantinos Volanakis Greek, 1837-1907

Signed in German, Bringing in the Catch is an important early work dating from Volanakis's Munich period (1864-1883).

Volanakis may be regarded as the founding father of Greek marine painting. Trained in the academic tradition under Karl von Piloty in Munich, it was in Germany that Volanakis painted some of his most famous works, such as The Circus (Athens, National Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum), The Boat Kaiser at the Battle of Lissa (Vienna, Österreichische Galerie), and The Battle of Lissa (Budapest, National Gallery).

The present work bears testimony not only to Volanakis's love of ships and the sea, but of the effects of light, wind and atmosphere. The painting is as much an exploration of the evening sun turning the sky red and bathing the distant shoreline in a warm yellow light, as it is a marine painting in the traditional sense. It is also a masterpiece in the study of perspective, space, and distance in the artist's observation of the boats in relation to one another, as well as his handling of the receding clouds coming down to meet the horizon.

Volanakis was an inspiration to many of the younger generation of Greek artists, among them Ioannis Altamura (see lot 11 ). Indeed he became a renowned teacher after his return to Greece in 1883, becoming Professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts.