Lot 41: Theodoros Vryzakis (Greek 1814/9-1878)

Portrait of a Lady
signed in greek and dated '1846' (lower right); signed and dated again on the reverse and indistinctly inscribed on the stretcher
oil on canvas
70.5 x 58.5 cm. (27 3/4 x 23 in.)

Albrecht Graf von Rechberg, Munich.
Private collection, Athens.

Vryzakis was among the first Greek artists to leave Greece in the first half of the 19th century to study in Munich. Here, he fully absorbed the tenets of the academic style prevalent at the time, which he interpreted with a realism that was tinged with romanticism.

In the present portrait of a lady, Vryzakis has combined an elegant sensitivity with a naïve style, which is equally discernable in some of his history paintings. The woman's porcelain skin is punctuated by her red earrings and coral necklace and framed by her dark hair and the shawl casually thrown around her shoulders. Gazing into the distance with a serious yet gentle expression, she holds the shawl to her breast with delicate fingers. Vryzakis has paid particular attention to the varied textures of her clothing - the fine lace of her dress and the transparent fabric of her short sleeves which contrast strikingly with the dark fabric of her dress and shawl.