Bonhams brings Greek modernism to life in November auction

Bonhams Paris opens its autumn calendar with The Greek Sale on 18 November, a curated collection that unfolds like a journey through Mediterranean light and the sensibility of twentieth century Greek modernism. The auction draws together works across landscape, maritime scenes and portraiture, each piece revealing a distinct moment in the nation’s artistic evolution.

The sale begins in the luminous countryside, where Polykleitos Rengos, Spyros Vassiliou and Michalis Economou captured the drama of Greek terrain. From there it moves along the country’s harbours and coastlines, immortalised in the misty, atmospheric canvases of Constantinos Volanakis and Pericles Pantazis. These maritime studies glow with the haze of approaching dusk, their sails rendered in warm ochres and rust against pale, cloud laden skies.

Yannis Tsarouchis, Nikolaos Gysis and Theofilos Hadjimichael dominate the figurative works, their portraits and scenes of everyday life crackling with psychological intensity. Gysis’s interiors breathe with an almost voyeuristic intimacy, while Tsarouchis’s figures possess an elongated grace reminiscent of Byzantine gold.

The collection concludes with abstraction and sculptural form. Sophia Vari and Georgios Zongolopoulos contribute bronzes and monumental pieces, whilst Constantinos Parthenis and Alexis Akrithakis offer increasingly stylised and chromatic compositions, their surfaces vibrating with reds, oranges and deep purples that feel almost feverish in their intensity.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 14 November from midday, with viewings continuing through Tuesday. The sale itself takes place at 6 avenue Hoche on Wednesday 18 November at 1pm.

Imagery courtesy of Bonhams Paris (@bonhamsparis).