Artemis Gyzi, 1890

Free from the limitations imposed on him by his patrons, an artist who enlists members of his family as his models often expresses the inherent desire of his art. This bold portrait Gyzis made of his young and beautiful wife, Artemis Nazou, in 1890 is an example in question. The artist portrayed his wife seated, in a spontaneous pose, her one hand resting on a table, laid with a precious red table cloth. Her white silk dress is covered on the right-hand side with a brownish fur with purple tones, which the woman has put around her shoulders. Her smiling face is leaning slightly, creating shades in which the eye sinks into a reverie of darkness. The work has been painted with extreme freedom, luscious multiple-layer glaze coats and extraordinary boldness in colour.