Paris – It takes courage for artists to sell their work only to people who will hang it properly, but the Greek painter Constantinos Parthenis was one such person. His L' Apothéose de Athanassios Diakos which leads Bonhams Greek sale in Paris on Wednesday 24 November was sold to his friend and supporter, Greek banker, Spyros Loverdos. Regarded as one of the greatest paintings ever by a Greek artist and the crown jewel in the famous Loverdos collection, the work is estimated at €350,000-550,000.
The 1927 painting pays homage to the Greek hero Athanasios Diakos, who is depicted ascending to heaven on the upper right-hand side of the canvas. Diakos, an ordained deacon in the Greek Orthodox Church, was one of the leaders of the 1821 uprising and War of Independence, the 200th anniversary of which is being marked this year. At the outbreak of the Revolution, he amassed troops to fight the Turkish forces. They clashed with Omer Vrionis's army at the bridge of Alamana – not far from the pass of Thermopylae, where in 480 BC Leonidas and his handful of Spartans famously died heroically resisting the Persian invaders. On May 5, 1821, Diakos with only 700 men fearlessly defended the bridge against a far superior Turkish force, but despite putting up a valiant display of fighting, he was captured and executed.
The sale also offers:
• L'offrande, an important work by Nikolaos Gyzis (1842-1901). Dated 1874, this well-known canvas is regarded as a masterwork of 19th century Greek genre painting and a milestone in the painter's artistic development. Gyzis was the major member of the 19th century Greek art movement known as the Munich School, and he lived and worked in the Bavarian capital from 1865 until his death. A visit to Greece in 1872 – his first since moving to Germany to study art seven years earlier – had a profound effect on his work which from then on reflected his Munich training filtered through Greek eyes. L'offrande was the first major work in which this fusion became apparent and is, therefore, seen as a key painting on his artistic journey. Works by Gyzis are currently on display in a major exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Paris-Athens. The birth of modern Greece 1675-1919 runs until 7 February 2022. Estimate: €200,000-300,000.
• Constantin Paleologos l'empereur des Gréco-Romains à la bataille du 23 Mai 1453 by Theofilos Hadjimichael. This monumental work is one of the few surviving murals by Theofilos, rescued from decay and destruction, and transferred onto panel from its original wall in a village on the artist's home island of Lesvos (Mytilene). Constantine XI Paleologos, the last Byzantine emperor who died a heroic death in defence of Constantinople on May 29, 1453, dominates the centre of the composition, presented on horseback in full regalia recalling the artist's representations of Alexander the Great. Estimate: €120,000-180,000.
Bonhams Greek Art specialist, Anastasia Orfanidou, said: "We are fortunate in this sale to be able to offer two undisputed masterpieces of Greek Art. L' Apothéose de Athanassios Diakos is rightly seen as one of the finest ever paintings by a Greek artist and, of course, it has a very special resonance this year as we mark the 200 anniversary of the 1821 Uprising. L'offrande shows the artist Gyzis at that crucial point in his development when he merged Greek sensibility with the formal training he had received in Germany. I expect keen interest from collectors in both works."
11 November