Ίκαρος

003205 Nikos Yialouris, Icarus, 1974, Indian ink on paper, 35.5 × 12.5 cm

The tragic mythological figure of Icarus—the young man who defied the limits of human nature and flew too close to the sun—has remained a beloved theme in Western European art. In 20th-century Greece, many artists dealt with the subject, with the most notable being the printmaker Vasso Katraki. Yialouris's composition does not ignore Katraki’s monumental stone-carved representations. The vertical development he adopts, along with the placement of the fallen youth’s head at the lower part of the image, clearly reflects this relationship. At the same time, however, Yialouris gives his own Icarus different traits, bringing him closer to his “Angels”: headless, with broken wings, and an emphasis on the naked youthful body. The artist explored multiple versions of the theme and may have even considered adapting it into a print. In this particular work, however, his draftsmanship stands out, along with the powerful expressionistic character of his art.