Greek painter Alekos Fassianos died at the age of 86

Eva Deschamps / January 17, 2022

 

The Greek painter Alekos Fassianos, 86, known for his characters of Greek mythology and folklore, died Sunday, his daughter told AFP.

Matisse of modern times, Alekos Fassianos, bedridden for several months at his home in Papagou, in the suburbs of Athens, died in his sleep following a long illness, said Viktoria Fassianou.

  

The multi-talented colorist shared his life between Greece and France, where he studied lithography at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts and rubbed shoulders with writers and painters, such as Matisse and Picasso, whom he admired a lot.

 

He had turned 86 on October 25, the same birthday as Picasso, but he had put down his brush since 2019, suffering from a degenerative disease, it was learned in the fall during a visit to his home.

  

His daughter who presides over the company Fassianos Estates and his wife Mariza Fassianou had then announced to AFP the opening of a museum in his name in the fall of 2022 in central Athens.

  

Fassianos is known for his paintings and lithographs, exhibited around the world, where we find the cyclist he met as a child on his way to the beach, the hair straightened by the wind as described in his readings of mythology, the fish of Kea, his favorite island, the round waves as in the Odyssey, the bird with outstretched wings, all of which are emblematic signatures of his work.