Constantinos Volanakis Greek, 1837-1907

Volanakis was sensitive to the dialogue between the various components of his compositions - sea and land; hard and soft forms; cool and warm colours; and reality and poetry. The technical virtuosity, attention to detail and chromatic iridescence evident in the present work are particularly striking, and typical of the paintings that Volanakis painted during his Greek period. As Elli Kaplani-Kokkini points out: "During his Greek period it was the nature of the place itself, and particularly the peculiar limpidity of the Mediterranean light that influenced the rendering of these subjects. This is seen in the tonality of the light, the clear colours and the realistic brushwork that signals his interpretation with perfect clarity.'' (Municipal Art Gallery of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Volanakis (1837-1907), Thessaloniki, 2003, p. 69).