Ήρωας

001649 Nikos Yialouris, Hero, n.d., acrylic on canvas, 70 × 25 cm

Nikos Yalouris was a self-taught but not uneducated artist. From the beginning of his career until the end of his life, his painting and printmaking were in constant dialogue with the art of European Modernism. At the same time, he maintained influences from Greek antiquity and Byzantine art. Thus, in many of his allegorical compositions—and especially in the series of Heroes and Angels—one can detect influences from the art of Giorgio de Chirico or even from the ironic tone of Nikos Engonopoulos. In the present composition, which features an ancient warrior, the references to the Italian metaphysical artist’s mannequins are clear. The warrior stands upright but is not intact—a support is visible behind him. His torso and head are placed inside two wooden boxes, open at the front so that his bones and helmet can be seen. The armor is strange, as is the overall treatment of the figure, which clearly does not follow logic nor originate from realism. The layout of the planes around the figure—especially the pointed arch at the top of the image—suggests that Yialouris may have been working on this subject for a monumental commission. In that case, works 001649 and 001650 should be understood as a pair.