George Savakis
George Savakis , or Yorgos Savakis ( Greek Γιώργος Σαββάκης , born August 22, 1922 in Athens ; † August 9, 2004 ibid) was a well-known Athens painter .
Life
George Savakis was born in the Psirri district, but lived in the Plaka district , where he initially worked as a portrait painter. During the German occupation he made sketches of typical scenes of the time in his spare time (e.g. the black market in the Stoa Attalou, or the second-hand clothing markets). From 1956 he worked exclusively as a painter. In the post-war period he painted large-scale pictures for the taverns in Plaka (he preferred to paint the walls of the taverns), which depicted the operation for carnival, concerts or scenes from Plaka itself. There he made the acquaintance of art dealers and well-known personalities, such as the later King of Greece Constantine .
In the 1970s he began to transfer the sketches from the occupation to oil. Although these were not a commercial success, they marked his breakthrough as an established painter. His studio, a former residential courtyard in Thespidos-Gasse, became a meeting place for historians and art dealers.
Exhibitions in Europe and the USA followed in the 1980s; in the south of France he was made an honorary citizen of a small town. In addition to his work as a painter, Savakis was also commissioned to restore medieval church paintings. Little is known about this activity. He was also very committed to the preservation of the Plaka in Athens . His last project was a symposium on food and Greek landscapes at the Thalassa restaurant in New York.
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Again and again Savakis is attributed to naive art or folk art. As a former portrait painter, however, Savakis was capable of realistic portrayals. He used an old-fashioned style of painting influenced by French impressionism.
In general, the work of George Savakis can be divided into three phases:
Early phase (until 1955)
The early phase was characterized by portraiture, Savakis made countless drawings of scenes from Athens' life. He colored some of them and sold them as watercolors. He also worked as a portrait painter.
1955-1980
Savakis painted a. a. Tavern scenes and scenes of the occupation on canvas. In his free time he continued to sketch situations in the Plaka, especially houses and streets before the renovation.
1980-2004
Savakis painted tavern scenes and Athens before 1940. He painted many themes in variations, such as Monastiraki Square with the tram or the carnival parade at the Lysicrates monument.
Individual works
- Le vieux marché de poissons a Athènes , Musée International d'Art Naïf,
Exhibitions
- "George Savakis: Images from old Athens", City of Athens, Technopolis 2010
- "George Savakis, the people's painter of ancient Athens" ("Γιώργος Σαββάκης, Ο λαϊκός ζωγράφος της Παλιάς Αθήνας"), December 22, 2012 to January 13, 2013, Ioniko Kentro, Athens
Trivia
Savakis ate lunch in the taverns in Plaka and gave their owners the opportunity to pay off with a meal. His pictures are still hanging in over 40 bars today.
Web links
- Savakis in his studio, picture on Flickr
- One of the typical Savakis carnival scenes, picture on Flickr
- Description of a short film about Savakis
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dora Komine-Dialetē: Lexico ellēnōn kallitechnōn, Melissa Athens 2000, p 121
- ↑ http://www.midan.org/home.php?lang=&page=Collections&subpage=artistSlider&artisteId=411&slider2=1
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Savakis, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Σαββάκης, Γιώργος (Greek); Savvakis, Giorgos |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 22, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Athens |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 2004 |
| Place of death | Athens |