He studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1965-1970) under Yannis Pappas and pottery as well as sculpture at West Surrey College (1974-1975), UK. He went on to Paris to study sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts (1975-1977) under Cesar and pottery at the School of Decorative Arts.
He has made solo exhibitions of his work and has participated in group exhibitions, including Panhellenic exhibitions, exhibitions of the Association of Sculptors, the “Balkan Sculpture Exhibition” in Bucharest (1981), where he received a distinction, and the Budapest Biennale (1988).
Using stone, limestone, concrete, marble, bronze, aluminum, iron and steel, and with the human figure as his point of reference, Giorgos Chouliaras began by producing works, in which stylization and the reference to folk art play a decisive role. His inclination to stylize evolved into semi-or full abstract compositions, enhanced through light and the manipulation of the tactile qualities and colour of his materials. Mainly abstract, the works he has produced in collaboration with architects for private and commercial interiors are an important part of his production.
Son of a captain in the merchant marine, he worked for a period at the Royal Printing-House and Lithographic Studio of Athens and in 1839 went to Paris, where he first devoted himself to the art of lithography and then studied painting. From the time he spent in Paris, and specifically 1841, we have his first dated works. After returning to Greece, he taught at the high school in Ermoupoli, Syros (1851). In regard to exhibitions, it is known that he participated in the Olympia Exhibitions of 1859 and 1875.
He painted mainly portraits which for the most part depict members of the aristocratic families of the islands done in official poses and with an emphasis on the detailed rendering of the supplementary – decorative elements. He was also involved with iconography and made icons for Ayia Eirini on Poros.
The son of architect and painter Daniel Soreau and brother of painter Jan Soreau, it was only natural for him to study under his father. He mainly painted still lifes, distinguished for their effervescent colour against a dark background as well as for their filigree technique.
The son of Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625), Jan Brueghel the Younger, learned his art in his father’s studio; after travelling in Italy for a few years, he returned to Antwerp when his father died in order to run the latter’s workshop. His creative production is intimately connected with that of Brueghel the father, to whom he remained faithful in approach, including among other things entrusting other artists with part of the work, especially the figures. Most of these works, mainly of a religious character, were produced with the help of Hendrik van Balen I (Antwerp 1575 – Antwerp 1632) who was one of Jan the Elder’s permanent assistants.
The only known biographical fact regarding this artist is that he died at the age of thirty-six.
He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under professor Lodovico Lipparini while it is said that in Zakynthos he took lessons from Nikolaos Kantounis. During his studies he twice took part in exhibitions in Venice (1845 and 1846). In 1847 he returned to Greece and in 1856 was appointed professor of drawing and painting at the Arsakeio.
Having been raised with the ideals of liberty and influenced by the work of his teacher, he painted historical subjects influenced by the Greek War of Independence, which are characterized by a sentimental overload. Starting in 1850 he began to do portraits of leading figures, his relatives as well as professors at the University of Athens for the decoration of the ceremonial hall in which there is a more academic style at work, although still possessing elements of Ionian island painting. Toward the end of his life he undertook, at the request of the Greek government, to do the portraits of the men who fought the Greek Revolution but he died before he was able to complete the task. These works can today be found in the National Historical Museum while the preliminary drawings for them are in the collection of the E. Koutlidis Foundation and the Benaki Museum.