Avlichos Georgios

He took painting lessons in a liberal arts study room in Naples, Italy, doing legal studies at the same time. He travelled to Germany and continued his artistic studies there. After his return to his birthplace, Cephalonia, he worked as a librarian in the Argostoli Library while giving painting lessons in his spare time. He was also a writer, poet and musician. He wrote the verse drama, “Η Καταστροφή των Ψαρών” (“The Destruction of Psara”) in demotic Greek; it was performed for the first time in Argostoli just after its publication in 1883. He was also occupied with setting poems to music. In 1885 he exhibited three portraits at the Parnassos Hall and in 1888 took part in the Panhellenio Artistic Exhibition at the Zappeion Hall. The last years of his life were exceptionally difficult because of health problems and his dire financial situation.

A representative of Ionian island art of the 19th century, he was primarily involved with portraiture but also painted genre scenes and still lifes. Employing the Italian academic tradition as his starting point, he cultivated a poetic atmosphere in his work and frequently transcended the familiar aspects everyday life. In his portraits, he distanced himself from the established type of portrait common in the first half of the 19th century with it rigorously maintained poses, dark tones and standardized composition by sensitively choosing, in his most characteristic works, harmonious colors while placing his emphasis on a realistic rendering.