Paris will host a major auction of Greek art on 18 November, when Bonhams stages its 49th Greek Sale, organised by Art Expertise, featuring 186 works spanning two centuries of artistic creation. Leading the auction is The Annunciationby Konstantinos Parthenis, with an estimated value of €250,000 to €350,000.
The sale brings together significant paintings by established Greek artists, rare works returning to public attention and sculptures representing different movements in modern and contemporary Greek art. Organisers expect the collection to attract interest from international collectors.
Parthenis (1878–1967) leads the estimates with The Annunciation, a characteristic example of his distinctive artistic language. Calligraphic lines and ethereal colours create a vision of peace and harmony.
Another major work is The Baptism by Fotis Kontoglou (1895–1965), estimated at €100,000 to €150,000. The painting holds an important place in modern Greek art through its connection with the revival of the post-Byzantine tradition and its influence on the Generation of the 1930s.
The same estimate applies to The Lighthouse of Marseille by Periklis Pantazis, which appeared at the Antwerp Salon in 1882 alongside paintings by Édouard Manet, and Fishing Boats Near the Shore by Konstantinos Volanakis, a characteristic example of the artist’s German period.
Rare Alexis Akrithakis painting emerges from a Leipzig attic
One of the auction’s most intriguing stories concerns a work by Alexis Akrithakis. His composition Speak According to the Madness That Has Swept You Away, recently discovered in the attic of a collector’s home near Leipzig, carries an estimate of €100,000 to €150,000.
Akrithakis exhibited the work at his first solo exhibition in Berlin in 1969. Its rediscovery offers collectors and researchers an opportunity to reconsider a piece from an important period in the artist’s career.
The auction also features a second work by Akrithakis, Four Stories, estimated at €40,000 to €60,000.
Other notable paintings include Young Man by Yannis Tsarouchis, estimated at €70,000 to €90,000. The work transforms a young man of the 1970s into a figure with symbolic associations, combining contemporary life with elements of the artist’s visual tradition.
Sunrise by Theofilos Hatzimihail, estimated at €60,000 to €80,000, presents a dual allegory of the East, depicting it both as an ancient Greek maiden and as the sun rising from the sea.
The collection also includes Model Posing by Theodoros Rallis, estimated at €40,000 to €60,000, and The Negri Family with the Acropolis in the Background by Francesco Pitzze, a mid-19th-century work valued at €20,000 to €30,000.
Greek sculpture and women artists feature prominently
Greek sculpture has a strong presence in the sale, with works reflecting both avant-garde abstraction and contemporary figurative art.
The sculptors represented include George Zongolopoulos, Gerasimos Sklavos, Achilleas Apergis, Takis, Theodoros Papadimitriou, George Georgiadis, Yannis Moralis and Kyriakos Rokos.
The auction also highlights the contribution of women to Greek art, reflecting their growing presence in the international art market. Featured artists include Bia Davou, Chryssa, Niki Kanagini, Sophia Vari, Marina Karella, Opy Zouni, Mina Papatheodorou-Valyraki and Maria Filopoulou.
The wider collection includes works by leading figures in Greek art, among them Nikolaos Gyzis, Konstantinos Maleas, Michalis Economou, George Bouzianis, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Nikos Engonopoulos, Alekos Fassianos, Dimitris Mytaras, Panayiotis Tetsis and Costas Tsoklis.
Terpsichori Angelopoulou of Art Expertise said the organisers had assembled works with extensive bibliographic documentation from important private collections, while also identifying unknown or overlooked pieces that could provide valuable material for historical research.
Exhibitions in Athens and Paris ahead of the auction
Collectors and members of the public will have two opportunities to view the works before the sale.
The first exhibition will take place at Image Gallery, 36 Amalias Avenue in Athens, from 2 to 4 November. Bonhams will then host a preview at its premises at 6 Avenue Hoche in Paris from 14 to 17 November.
The auction will take place in Paris on 18 November, continuing the Greek Sale tradition of bringing significant works by Greek artists to the international art market and achieving notable sales and auction records.
(Source: AMNA)
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