40. Nikolaos Gyzis (Greek, 1842-1901) Mère au berceau signé 'N. Gysis' et monogramme 'N.G' (en bas à droite) huile sur panneau 73 x 58cm (28 3/4 x 22 13/16in). signed and monogrammed (lower right) oil on panel Provenance Lukas Akliros gallery, Berlin (from a stamp on the reverse). Vassos Falireas collection, Greece Beatrice Spiliadis collection, Athens and thence be descent to the present owner. Expositions Athens, Iliou Melathron, Etairia Filotexnon, Exhibition of Works by Nikolaos Gyzis, March 15- May 15, 1928, no. 406, listed in the exhibition catalogue, pg. 20 (possibly). A master of genre painting, Gysis captures a vignette of rural life set in a spartan interior enlivened by the artist's vibrant brushwork and wonderful passages of colour. The painting is bathed in light which invades the scene from the left, highlighting the young mother and the child's cradle and making them glow with a shimmering luminescence. "Gysis often used two kinds of lighting in his paintings: a general, diffuse lighting and a local one that highlighted the figures or objects he wanted to be particularly pronounced."1 The generalised rendering, soft outlines and elimination of detail point to the artist's venture beyond the descriptive and the anecdotal and his ability to engage the viewer in the narrative by relying on purely pictorial means. Working within a subdued scale, Gysis suggests texture, space and atmosphere by subtle modulations of tone and intensity that demonstrate his amazing skill in the freer handling of form. Juxtaposing calmly handled surfaces to areas treated with swift, energetic brushstrokes, he simultaneously conveys a sense of reverence and cheerfulness, offering a genuine insight into the wonder of family and motherhood. "Praised like no other Modern Greek painter, Gysis, who lived and worked abroad, conveyed subjects of genuine Greek character, distinguished by vigorous palette in describing rural interiors, romantic disposition in relaying Greek traditions, familiarity and directness in portraying folk types and veiled nostalgia in capturing scenes of everyday life."2 1 M. Kalligas, Nicholaos Gysis [in Greek], MIET edition, Athens, 1981, p. 74. 2 M. Papanikolaou, Greek Nineteenth Century Genre Painting [in Greek], P. Pournaras editions, Thessaloniki 1978, p. 78.