Ελιές της Χίου

000010 Yannis Mitarakis, Olive Trees from Chios, 1961, oil on canvas, 62.5 × 75.5 εκ.

The olive tree evolved during the Greek interwar period into an extremely popular subject, as it was considered a distinct feature of the Greek landscape, closely linked to olive oil production and to the farmer, who symbolized the quintessential figure of the common people. Several artists—such as Tassos (Alevizos), the painters from neighbouring Lesbos Orestis Kanellis and Takis Eleftheriadis, Aghinor Asteriadis from Thessaly, among many others—depicted the olive tree or, more generally, olive groves within this ideological framework. Yiannis Mitarakis' first compositions on the subject date back to the mid-1930s, but he continued to revisit the theme throughout his career.

This particular work in the Municipal Gallery is dated to 1961, two years before the artist’s death. Two olive trees dominate the canvas, occupying most of the surface, leaving minimal space for the ground and the sky. The style is consistent with Mitarakis’s late production: schematic, expressionist drawing is contrasted with explosive brushwork and a lavish, free-flowing touch. The trees are shaped with broad surfaces of pure colour, while the ground is composed of smaller zones of distinct hues: oranges, greens, browns, and ochres create a mosaic of tones—an abstract formulation of the Mediterranean landscape.