Τοπίο με Δέντρα

001762 Nikos Yialouris, Landscape, n.d., oil on canvas, 41.5 × 48 cm

This captivating Chian landscape likely dates from Yialouris’s early period—perhaps even the 1940s—when he was experimenting independently as he trained his view, disciplined his line, and learned to master the materials of his art without teachers. The scene presents a landscape, painted from a high vantage point that allows a panoramic sweep of the terrain. The viewer’s gaze first takes in yellow fields and olive trees in the foreground. Further back, near a road—or perhaps a shallow ravine—pine trees are depicted, with low hills rising in the distance. At the horizon line, one can see the sea, and beyond it, a pale blue band of sky. Even in this early effort, one can detect key traits of the artist’s vision: his love for the Chian landscape, the importance of line in his work, the secondary but vivid role of colour in his compositions, and a clarity of style shaped by European Modernism. In this early artwork, Yialouris's references lie closer to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism—particularly the works of Van Gogh and Gauguin, which he would have known through books.