Demetrios Galanis

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Demetrios Galanis (1880-1966) was an early twentieth century Greek artist and contemporary and friend of Picasso. In 1920, the year he completed his `Seated Nude', he exhibited alongside such major figures of modern art as Matisse and Braque, while from 1921 on he also exhibited alongside Juan Gris, Dufy, Chagall and Picasso.

By the early 1920s Galanis was famous in France and preparing for shows in Brussels, London, and New York. In 1922 his first one-man exhibition received the enthususiastic critical response that established his reputation. `Seated Nude' was among the pictures exhibited, and in an introduction to the exhibition Andre Malraux described the artist's work as "having the power to stir emotions equivalent to that of Giotto."

Galanis received greater critical acclaim abroad in his lifetime than any other Greek modern artist of the early 20th century. The French state honoured him with the highest distinctions: full professor at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and a life-long member of the Académie française.