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Konstantinos Volanakis
Volos harbour at night
χ.χ.
oil on canvas
35 x 74 cm
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Night view of the port of Volos, with a view of the lighthouse on the breakwater. In this nighttime landscape, Volanakis once again emphasises the contradiction between the calm seascape and the noisy urban environment.

The left side of the composition is taken over by the sea, with the familiar figure of a sailboat sailing out of the harbour. The painter emphasises the vastness of the sea and the silence with slight ripples that glimmer under the starlight all the way to the distant horizon. The coastal landscape up to the lighthouse and part of the dock are depicted on the right side. The painting is characterised by a strong narrative and impressionistic mood. There are a lot of people and a lot of movement on the dock. One fisherman is fishing and another is walking with his baskets. A couple is strolling around and several men are conversing in groups. The buildings are illuminated and a horse-drawn carriage is waiting for passengers. Many sailboats are moored all along the dock, but the majestic steamship in the centre catches the viewer’s attention.

Bibliography


Marilena Z. Kassimati (curator), Constantinos Volanakis: Poet of the Sea, exhibition catalogue, Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, Hellenic Maritime Museum, Athens 2009, pp. 124, 182.

Takis Mavrotas (curator), Constantinos Volanakis: The Father of Greek Seascape Painting, exhibition catalogue, B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts, Athens 2018, p. 127.

Thodoris Koutsogiannis (curator), Constantinos Volanakis: Nostos of the Sea. Artworks from the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation collection, exhibition catalogue, Municipal Art Gallery of Chania, pp. 40, 174-175.

Sotheby’s / London, The Greek Sale, 10/05/2007.

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