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Two Girl Friends, 1946
Oil on canvas, 100 x 67 cm
Donated by the artist
Inv. Number
Π.7693
On view
Main Building
“”Two Girl Friends”” is one of the paintings inspired by the Fayum tradition as well as Renaissance portraiture and Derain’s works in a similar vein. It unmistakably carries the classical spirit of Moralis’ art. It also presupposes his lessons from Cubism in specific details. The two friends are young sculptors: Buba Lymberaki, who was to become Moralis’ second wife, and Natalia Mela (in the red dress). The artist has set them in frontal poses in a space without depth, enclosed by a screen. The pose, the gaze – mesmerising the viewer – time, which seems frozen, even the manner in which the figures have been painted, all invoke eternity: the privilege of classical art.
The painting background is greenish, adding glow to the red dress (red is the complementary colour of green). Lymberaki’s black coat, her white blouse, the other girl’s grey striped shirt, all add to the austere harmony of the composition, further enhancing the only vivid colour, red.