Self-Portrait 1899

Konstantinos Parthenis made this self-portrait with pastel on paper sometime during his early career. He stares directly out at us, his features rendered in careful detail against a dark, undefined background. Parthenis was a key figure in the development of modern Greek art, and he taught at the Athens School of Fine Arts for nearly 30 years. His style, however, was quite distinct from the academic realism that was prevalent at the school when he was a student there. He combined elements of post-impressionism, symbolism, and religious art. What makes this portrait so compelling is the sense of intimacy it creates. It is as if Parthenis wants to reach past the conventions of portraiture to touch the viewer directly. As art historians, we might look to the archives of the School of Fine Arts, or to exhibition reviews from the period, in order to understand how Parthenis challenged the expectations of the Greek art world. This is how we can best understand the stakes of artistic innovation.