Panos Sarafianos studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts in 1940-1945; in 1956-1959, he went on to conduct post-graduate studies in fresco and pottery at the Istituto d’Arte in Rome. Back to Greece, he worked as a painter at the Archaeological Museum in Athens and taught at the art workshop he had established for a number of years. His work is anthropocentric, both in its earliest phase of solidly-structured figures, and later, when expressionistic traits and an abstract tendency prevailed. In his experimentation, he sought to fuse contemporary pursuits with the study of the Greek and Italian Renaissance art.
His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions in Greece. Sarafianos has also participated in group exhibitions in Greece and other countries.
“He studied at the Law School, University of Thrace (1974-1979) and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He did his first solo exhibition in Athens, in 1987. In 2000, retrospective presentations of his work were mounted at the Papastratou Foundation in Agrinio and the Kydonieos Foundation in Andros. He has also participated and earned awards in group exhibitions in Greece and other countries. His most characteristic medium is oil on wood or on linen, attached on wood or sheet metal.
His work mainly revolves around mimesis, personal and collective experience, using simple, everyday, and humble themes. He has also done set designs for the theatre.”
He attended painting lessons at St. Luke’s Academy in Rome (1868-1869) and in 1870 after a trip to various European countries, he returned to Corfu. In his birthplace he originally taught at the Capodistrias School but then founded a private art school at which many noteworthy Corfiot painters studied, such as Angelos Giallinas and Georgios Samartzis
Participating in the artistic activity of the capital, he presented his works at various exhibitions, such as the Olympia Exhibition of 1875, where he was awarded the silver medal second class for his work Arkadi. He also took part in the International Exhibition of Paris in 1878 and the Panhellenio Artistic Exhibition at Zappeion Hall in 1888, while his participation in the First International Exhibition in Crete in 1900 garnered him a gold medal.
Influenced by European Philhellenism, he did history compositions inspired by the Greek War of Independence. He also painted portraits, and was one of the first painters from the Ionian islands to do genre scenes and landscapes, combining in his works the doctrines of his Italian training with pure folk elements. His artistic creation also includes a number of religious subjects as well as the iconography for the Orthodox Greek Church of Dyrrachio.