Lot 61: w - THOMAS THOMOPOULOS GREEK, 1873-1937

THE ANGEL OF WAR

height: 114cm., 45in.

marble and terracotta

PROVENANCE

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

LITERATURE

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

NOTE

Thomopoulos' early training was at the School of Fine Arts in Athens under Nikiforos Lytras 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 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 the spoils of war. He rises over the bodies of the wounded men and animals, contemplating them with downturned gaze. Though it is unknown whether 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.