7. THEOFILOS HADJIMICHAEL (1871-1934) The Gulf of Yera, Lesvos natural pigments on wall pasted on canvas 87 x 124 cm (34 1/4 x 48 13/16in.) natural pigments on wall mounted on canvas Provenance D. Taktikos collection, Mytiline. Private collection, Athens. In 1926, following a forty-year odyssey, Theofilos returned to his native Mytilene, where he "enjoyed a very creative and prolific period, during which he painted some of his best works."¹ The verdant countryside and calm Mediterranean landscape of his homeland allowed him to express his deep-felt fascination with nature. (Compare Bay of Yera, 1932, Theofilos Museum, Mytilene). Filtered through the artist's rich imagination, imbued with a spirit of untutored simplicity and handled with vibrant colour, the natural environment is transformed into the enthusiasm sparked in him by the luxuriant vegetation. Even the figure of the priest on the foreground and the crucifix on the middle left are so well integrated into their natural surroundings that they become part of the landscape. As noted by painter O. Kanellis, "Theofilos sought to illuminate the truth of Greek nature with man being part of it. His paintings are fields of shapes and patches of colour that are integral to the natural environment, helping him express an overall feeling emanating from life itself, a feeling based on pure vision and the observation of nature. When we see an outdoor scene by Theofilos we hardly think that we see the landscape from a distance, but rather that we live in it, that we actually walk through it. Any sense of distance is eliminated and we are surrounded by lush trees, pristine grasslands and crystal clear waters in a lucid, diaphanous atmosphere. Only Bonnard and Theofilos were able to convey this feeling."² ¹. N. Matsas, The Tale of Theofilos [in Greek], Estia editions, Athens 1978, p. 153. ². O. Kanellis, "The Painter Theofilos" [in Greek], Tachydromos magazine, no. 379, July 15, 1961.