Botis Thalassinos (1929-2017): The Oath of a Painter

The world-wide notable and eminent Cretan painter Botis Thalassinos has uniquely sealed his presence in the art world through all forms of his art. He has created an important series of seascapes, still life, hagiography, landscapes and portraits of jet-set celebrities.

His profound artistic presence in North and South America, including many European capital cities, received favourable art reviews on all of his series. He has based his works of art on fundamental principles of academic art, combined harmoniously with the influence of modern art movements and techniques.

We see him as a young boy acquiring an art award from Prime Minister Metaxas, at that time. Later on, he entered the Athens School of Fine Arts and continued his studies at the Sao Paolo School of Fine Arts in Brazil.

The years that followed, he worked as stage-designer for two t.v. channels where he won an award for the stage-setting of the film”Orpheo Negro”.

Later on, he advanced in solo art exhibitions in the big cities of America and Europe.with victorious success.

He then became widely well-known to the significant art collectors and to the elite – the high society of that period.

Thalassinos is considered by honour to being one of the best masters in the technique of pastel, having the fineness and imposing presence of his works of art. He even devised a new way of expression called “Photocubism” and “Photocylindrism”, a new technique which gave new dimension and impulse in the art of his paintings.

The metaphysical element dominates in these works which reflects the authenticity of the artist s sensitive temperament and strong expressiveness.

I am presenting a dedication of the most significant of his series of paintings, which is called “The Battle of Crete”. It is composed of many paintings which constitute a historical documentary and procedure of a child’s oath, which was his as a child, to give evidence through his art of the ten-day battle, as a protest of what his young soul had lived.

It is the praise of a human being thru art.

After the invaders had killed his grandfather and grandmother, he said «At that moment of the victory of the Cretan soul, was the moment the barbarian invaders became criminals, and it was then that I vowed to take my revenge. To proceed one day to depict thru my paint-brush what my young eyes had seen and faced…»

He lived the last ten years of his life in Greece. Although he was already famous, he continued working and opened the well-known Botis Thalassinos School of Art, accepting only small groups, and teaching with a special inner glow.

The unforgettable artist and teacher. A brilliant personality with the authentic Cretan temperament and inborn goodness and simplicity.

A famous artist who was characterised as the new El Greco by Salvador Dali, a “pirate of the paint-brush” who has honoured his country world-wide. In his career, he held 45 solo exhibitions and has been honoured with 42 awards. Today a part of his great collection of arts is housed at the Botis Thalassinos Museum of Art situated at his home town Tilissos, outside the city of Herakleion, Crete.