32. (25662144/2) CONSTANTINOS MALEAS (1879-1928) Reflections on the Nile, Luxor signed in Greek lower left oil on hardboard 32 x 53,5 cm (12 5/8 x 20 7/8in.) Bathed in light and virtually claimed by it, this mesmerizing landscape of eye-smacking lavenders and vermilions, undulating rhythms, and deftly woven harmonies, captures nature's chromatic brilliance and radiating poetry. Setting his easel outdoors, Maleas was able to retain the freshness of execution and fidelity to natural phenomena. He worked quickly and defiantly, his richly layered, dynamic brushstrokes verging on automatic physical responses to optical stimuli. His primary concern was to render the landscape's atmosphere, capturing colour fluctuations and fleeting effects of sparkling light reflected on the water in such an evocative manner that would convey the momentary elusiveness of a sense impression. Maleas's second period (1909-1917), launched with his first trip to the Orient, proved that his seven years in Paris, where he became familiar with the ground-breaking work of the leading impressionists, bore fruit. His canvases are now dominated by flat, textured surfaces, thick impasto, and generalised handling of volume akin to Monet's abstractive style of the same period. Land, water and sky come together to orchestrate a poetic dream captured on canvas.