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000011 Yannis Mitarakis, Meteora, 1960, oil on canvas, 67.5 × 83.5 cm

The painting is dated to 1960, making it one of the first works Mitarakis created after his visit to Meteora. It is quite possible that it was exhibited in his solo show at the “Nees Morfes” Gallery in Athens, held from January 29 to February 17, 1960. In this distinctive landscape painting, the most striking feature is the complete absence of the sky, which has been excluded from the composition. The artist positions himself far from the monasteries, capturing the tall rock formations as they rise monumentally, filling the entire canvas and creating a somewhat claustrophobic effect. A stone barrier, painted in dark browns and greys with quick, rough brushstrokes across large surfaces, essentially defines the subject of the painting. Despite his modernist style, which evokes memories of Cézanne and Cubism, Mitarakis seems here to be in closer dialogue with the German Romantics; as he seeks in the Meteora landscape the sublime grandeur of nature.