To the Dreams Left Behind and Defeated, 1909

Constantinos Dimitriadis could be characterized as Rodin’s most consistent representative in modern Greek sculpture. He adopted the French artist’s style of modeling forms and used the same subject matter as a point of departure.

“To the Dreams Left Behind and Defead” is a characteristic example. It was to have been the central scene in a larger iconographical sculpture group titled “Life’s Defeated”. Nine individual scenes were to comprise the whole, references to the failures, disappointments, dilemmas and efforts of ordinary human beings in the course of life.

Dimitriadis carved two versions of “Dreams Left Behind and Defeated”. In the first, an unseen figure covered by the veil of Destiny rises up to envelop a couple. The second version is on display in the National Glyptotheque.

The powerful, muscular man, here, seems to have surrendered to his fate. His facial expression imparts a sense of forbearance, perhaps even reverie. The woman, curled up as if seeking protection, leans towards her companion.

The man’s well-defined musculature and the woman’s soft curves are elements that characterize many of Dimitriadis’ works and reveal the influence of Rodin’s views on modeling forms. The same is true for the heavy, unrefined block of marble that frames the figures, allowing them to emerge as nearly carved in the round.