Δέντρα

000573 Nikos Yialouris, Trees, 1985, Indian ink on paper, 100 × 70 cm

Nikos Yalouris associated his particular focus on the tree motif—especially during the 1980s—with a long illness, a personal health struggle. This may explain why these compositions are imbued with a dramatic tone, a latent sense of tragedy that relates both to the stylistic approach and to the depicted subject matter. The style, though fundamentally realistic (nature always remained the artist’s starting point), takes on expressionistic traits. The hard line, the nervous stroke of the reed on paper, the bold, almost calligraphic gestures reveal both the virtuoso draftsman and the expressionist artist. The emotional intensity of the painting is heightened by the drama of the subject: five trees, stripped of their leaves, are depicted—five mulberry trees, with their thick branches and thinner twigs stretching skyward like hands—like the strange dance of an ancient, silent tragedy.