Theofilos (Hadjimichail)

Private Collection, Athens

Theofilos' work became intenationaly recognized when the Parisian art critic Stratis Eleftheriadis known as Tériade met Theoflios and promoted his work on the international art market. As Tériade pointed out: 'The Byzantine tradition of wall painting was reborn in his work, in a natural way. The simplicity, the sence of the rough surface, the feel for colour on a whitewashed Greek wall, the magical sensitivity to every colour combination, the ornaments of fresh, spontaneous imagination, and finally the ingenuousness, this creative ingenuousness, which makes primitive art equal or even better than the most sophisticated artistic expression - all these make up the unique person of Theofilos, whose light blue eyes reflected treasures of colours noble and hard to find, elevating him to parity with all the modern ''primitives'' and today's most innovative painters, whose inventive audacity he possesed to a point that amazes us. When Theofilios paints Greek heroes from the War of Independence, their traditional fustanella kilts become flowers in the fields.' (quoted in H. Kambouridis & G. Levounis, Modern Greek Art - The 20th Century, Athens, 1999, p. 42).

Please note that due to Greek regulations, this painting currently cannot be exported from Greece and will be available for inspection by prospective buyers in Athens by appointment with Sotheby's.  The painting will be located in Greece during the auction.    

Please also note that the sale of the painting will be conditional upon the Greek State failing to pre-empt the sale of this lot at the time of the auction. The successful buyer will be able to collect the work in Athens. Should you have any queries regarding the sale of this work please contact a member of the department.