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006885 George Zymarakis, Representation of War, 1996, oil on canvas, 153 × 203 cm

George Zymarakis, who studied painting in New York, moved with unpretentious boldness from a personal, expressionist idiom with the urban landscape as the protagonist, to folkloric narrative scenes inspired by the history and tradition of his island, Chios. The painting in the Municipal Gallery is part of this second body of work. The title, Representation of War, leaves no doubt about the subject matter, but more illuminating is the “popular” inscription, lower right: ‟G. ZYMARAKIS/ painted 1996-97/ Narration by ANT. GLYKAS”. The word epoiei [painted, but literally meaning “he made it” refers to Dominikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco)]. Zymarakis is mostly interested in confirming that the depiction is based on real events. On the first level, spread out next to each other, the faces of the narrative follow a typical arrangement. Villagers on the right look on in horror at the two Red Cross women trying to stop two armed men in civilian clothes as they beat a military officer. On the right, another villager opens a door (of a prison?). In the background, civilians are arresting soldiers near a large building that has been converted into a hospital (the Red Cross sign can be seen on the roof). On the right, a church with its bell tower is depicted. The scene probably refers to events of the National Schism (1914-1917) or the events immediately after the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922)—as the soldiers are confronted with the fury of the civilians. Zymarakis here projects his folksy narrative, artificially hiding his vast education. This education, however, is revealed in the details: the way the shadows and proportions are depicted, the way the volumes are painted. The result is a hybrid between naive art and academic painting.