Vasilios Chatzis

Greek Royal Collection
Private Collection (purchased from the above in 1993)

Athens, Panhellenic Exhibition, 1948

Stelios Lydakis, Geschichte der griechischen Malerei des 19. Jahrhunderts, Munich, 1972,  fig. 68, illustrated

The sheet has been laid on canvas. There are scattered areas of raising of the sheet off the support, as well as scattered tears and creases. The varnish has yellowed, and there are scattered spots of dirt.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Chatzis's dramatic depictions of life at sea and virtuoso brushwork made him one of the most accomplished marine painters in Greece. Here he depicted the sack of Constantinople, a crucial event in the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), in which the Crusaders succeeded in capturing and pillaging the city.

Chatzis represented a departure from tradition, and a vibrant new perspective, changing the face of marine painting as seen by Greek artists. As stated by Marina Lambraki-Plaka: 'The exodus from the shadowy workshop to the brilliant light of the outdoors was a revelation for painters. There they became aware that the image of nature was being ceaselessly transformed by the flow of time and the change of light, that strong, natural colours bore no relationship to the browns, greys, and whites of traditional landscape painting, that the academic technique, laborious and slow, was inadequate for conceiving of things in their flow and interpreting nature as a continual state of becoming and not just an event. Thus impressionism was born. (...) Their paintings glow with luminosity, pulse and colour and transmit to the viewer the vitality of euphoria' (Marina Lambraki-Plaka, ed., Four Centuries of Greek Painting, Athens, 1999, p. 352).

A student at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Lytras and Volanakis, Chatzis is known for his depictions of boats and life at sea. So impressive were his works that during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, under government order, he was posted on a warship to record the actions of the Greek fleet.