Creations of Theofilos Chatzimichail
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Theofilos Hadjimihail (1871 - 1934), son of Gabriel Kefalas and Penelope Hadjimihail, with lineage from Varya, Mytilene, is among the most important representatives of Greek folk painting during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century.
He arrived in Volos as a volunteer in the unfortunate Greek-Turkish war of 1897. After the end of the war he settled in Milies and later in Ano Volos (Anakassia). Following a few years of absence in Izmir (1902-1909?) he returned to Volos until his final return to his birthplace Mytilene in 1926, where he passed away in 1934.
For thirty years, most of his life, he lived wandering in Volos and the villages of Pelion, dressed in foustanella, tarboosh, rustic shoes and his work kit fastened to his leather belt, decorating with his colourful and jubilant paintings public and private spaces (shops, cafes, churches, mansions), and also any sort of surface.
His exuberant work is distinguished by colour intensity and harmony, synthetic ability and thematic variety. Sources of his artistic inspiration are mythology, the history of Hellenism, antiquity, Byzantium and, in particular, the revolutionary struggles of 1821, our religious and folk tradition, printed folk narratives, modern life and reality.
Theophilos's work, secular and ecclesiastical, with distinct its dimension of "Greekness", has influenced the aesthetic perceptions of artists of his time, and also a line of younger creators in the quest of an art with indigenous features.
