Lot 29: THOMAS THOMOPOULOS GREEK, 1873-1937

MATERIAL/MEDIUM
marble and terracotta

height: 114 cm., 45 in.

Stelios Lydakis, Greek Sculptors, Athens, 1981, p. 101, as War

The artists's estate; thence by descent to the present owner

Thomopoulos early training was at the School of Fine Arts in Athens under Nikiforos Lytras (see lots 19-21) and later under the guidance of the sculptor Georgios Vroutos. Like many Greek artists at the time Thomopoulos left Athens for Munich enrolling in the German studios of the Bavarian capital. Records indicate that Thomopoulos travelled extensively at this time, mostly through Italy studying the work of the Renaissance masters. By 1900 though he had returned to Greece setting up an atelier in Athens.

The Angel of War depicts in the centre of the composition a winged male figure possibly a personification of Victory contemplating over the spoils of war. He rises over the bodies of the wounded men and animals, contemplating them with downturned gaze. Although we do not know if this work was commissioned by a patron, the great care that was taken in its execution indicates that the work must have been a major undertaking for the sculptor.

Marble sculptures of this size are rarely offered at auction as many were made as either garden decorations that deteriorated through exposure to the elements, or as architectural decorations for government buildings. The re-appearance of this major marble gives us a better understanding of this great sculptors oeuvre.