Constantinos Parthenis Greek, 1878-1967

One of Parthenis's most daring compositions, Care was pained in 1947 when he was at the height of his artistic powers. Considered to be the father of modern Greek painting, Parthenis combined elements of religious and symbolic allegory, Surrealism, Cubism and Art Deco in this work.

In the centre of the composition an angel leans over a ledge holding a bowl of fruit. In the foreground a table, chair and tablecloth floating in disarray prevent the viewer from approaching the ethereal winged figure. The objects in the foreground are composed of straight lines in contrast to the curving lines of the angel. The use of bare canvas in the foreground is also a contrast to the painted surface of the sky in the background. 

In 1947 Parthenis resigned as a teacher from the School of Fine Arts in Athens and was working on his monumental painting The Apotheosis of Athanasios Diakos that he exhibited at the "Panhellenic" exhibition of 1948. According to Marina Lambraki-Plaka "By the end of the exhibition he withdrew from society in his house and studio at the foot of the Acropolis. In self-exile, he painted his last pictures, which were marked by magnanimity, courage and the spirit of a great creator. Neither the honours, nor the medals, nor the exhibition organized by his students and admirers at the "Athens Technological Institute" in 1966 could draw him out of his hermitage... Constantinos Parthenis was a singular eclectic. What is finally the catalyst, which transforms all that treasure stored in the memory from different sources and subjects it into that unique and unparalleled style, recognizable from miles away? The secret of Parthenis' identity lies in the spirit which animates the figures and makes convincing all divergences from the rules." (Marina Lambraki-Plaka, Constantinos Parthenis 1878-1967, Athens, 2001, p. 9)