Theofilos Hadjimichael

(Greek, 1871-1934)

Alexandre le Grand au combat

Footnotes

Provenance
Koumbas collection, Lesvos.
Private collection.

Littérature
M.G. Moschou, Theofilos Hadjimichail Self-Biographed, doctoral dissertation, University of Athens, Athens 2005, Annex Illustrations, vol. I, p. 8 (mentioned), fig. I.40 (illustrated).
A. Hadjiyannaki, Theofilos, K. Adam editions, Athens 2007, p. 114 (illustrated).

When the painter Orestis Kanellis asked Theofilos to paint for him a landscape, the artist replied fervidly: "I will paint you, instead, Alexander the Great rushing at the enemies with his sword."¹

Mighty, regal and handsome as an Olympian god, his golden armour flashing lightning, Alexander the Great, riding Bucephalus, commands his brave Macedonian infantry against King Porus of India in the victorious battle of the Hydaspes River (326 BC).² History is filtered through the artist's rich imagination and transformed into the enthusiasm³ sparked in him by valour and heroic achievement. Gallantry is indicated through the repetition of pictorial and iconographic conventions, an approach to painting rooted in Byzantine and folk tradition and reminiscent of descriptions found in demotic songs.

In this magnificent canvas of sparkling light and brilliant colour, Theofilos explores a mythical, ideal world that stirred his imagination since his early childhood. As noted by Nobel laureate O. Elytis, his grandfather used to sit him on his knees and recount old stories about Alexander the Great until the little boy closed his eyes and dreamt about the great deeds of this hero of Hellenism.⁴ Theofilos kept alive Alexander's tradition, which had grown since the period of the Ottoman Occupation as the incarnation of the dreams of liberation and, later, of the visions of the Great Idea."<sup>5

1</sup> See G. Petris, "The Painter of the Folk Myth" [in Greek], Epitheorisi Technis magazine, no. 75, March 1961, pp. 198-200.
² A lengthy description of the historic event (with inaccurate date) is inscribed at the top of the painting.
³ Theofilos was so fascinated with the radiance, glamour and regal grace of the Macedonian king that he used to parade the streets dressed as Alexander the Great, with helmet, sword, buskins and accoutrements made and painted by himself, followed by a troop of boys similarly attired.
⁴ O. Elytis, The Painter Theofilos [in Greek], Asterias editions, Athens 1973, p. 24.
⁵ See Alexander the Great in European Art, exhibition catalogue, Organisation for the Cultural Capital of Europe, Thessaloniki 1997, p. 264.


Lorsque le peintre Orestis Kanellis a demandé à Theofilos de lui peindre un paysage, l'artiste a répondu avec enthousiasme : « Je vais plutôt vous peindre Alexandre le Grand, se ruant sur ses ennemis avec son épée.»

Puissant, majestueux et beau comme un dieu de l'Olympe, son armure dorée scintillant dans la lumière, Alexandre le Grand, chevauchant Bucéphale, commande sa valeureuse infanterie macédonienne contre le roi Porus d'Inde dans la bataille victorieuse des rives de l'Hydaspe (326 av. J-C). L'histoire est filtrée par l'imagination foisonnante de l'artiste et transformée par l'enthousiasme3 que lui inspirent la valeur et les actes héroïques. La bravoure est montrée par la répétition de conventions picturales et iconographiques, une approche de la peinture qui trouve ses racines dans la tradition byzantine et populaire et rappelle des descriptions présentes dans les chants démotiques.

Dans cette toile magnifique qui irradie de lumière et de couleur, Theofilos explore un monde mythique idéal qui a nourri son imagination depuis sa toute petite enfance. Comme l'a fait observer le Prix Nobel O. Elytis, son grand-père avait l'habitude de l'asseoir sur ses genoux et de lui raconter de vieilles histoires sur Alexandre le Grand jusqu'à ce que le jeune garçon ferme les yeux et rêve des hauts faits de ce héros de l'hellénisme. Theofilos a maintenu vivante la tradition d'Alexandre, qui n'a cessé de croître depuis la période de l'occupation ottomane comme l'incarnation des rêves de libération et, plus tard, des visions de la Grande Idée ».