The Great Painter

Texts of General Interest (link)

Dr. James Manos (MD)

July 18, 2019

                           Maria Angelidou, the great painter

                                           Angelidou’s painting 

Maria Angelidou was born in the early 1900s in Nafplion, Greece. She had shown her talent in drawing since her early childhood. In 1940, she worked as a bank clerk in Nafplion. In the early 1950s, she moved to Athens to study art. Her first teacher in arts was Aristotle Vasilikotis. In 1956, she studied at the Fine Arts School of Greece. One of her teachers was the famous Greek painter Yiannis Moralis. When she graduated, she started organizing her own exhibitions. She also participated in international exhibitions and received excellent reviews in Paris (Art Libre 1959 and 1960).

These distinctions made her famous, and with the financial aid of the French government's scholarship, she left Greece and moved to Paris. There, she studied at the Academy De la Grande Chaumiere. Among her teachers was Professor M. Yves Brayves, president of the Fine Arts Academy in Paris and professor of Ecole Superieure des Beaux Artes. She graduated with excellent reviews. She continued participating in exhibitions. Importantly, in the late 1970s, at an international exhibition along with the nobles who signed the guest book of Maria Angelidou was Jacques Chirac, those days mayor of Paris and later (1995) President of France. Chirac wrote in the guestbook for Angelidou’s paintings the word 'fantastique' (fantastic). 

Maria Angelidou established a unique style in her paintings, amalgamating various forms, especially surrealism. Her pictures were often related to metaphysical aspects, while the existence of hidden persons and feelings, such as in the above painting, was remarkable. In 1977, her exhibition at the Galerie Dunkan was awarded the silver medal of the French Republic (Grand Prix Humanitaire de France Avec Medaille d'Argent). In 1985, in her exhibition at Cote d'Azur, French Riviera, she was awarded the Grand Prix.

Some of Angelidou’s works are:

i) Panhellenic exhibitions in Zappeion Megaron, Athens (1957, 1960, 1963, 1969, 1971, and 1975).

ii) Many personal exhibitions in Greece: Zygos 1958, hotel Grand Britannia in Nafplion 1959, Town Hal of Chios 1960, hotel Xenia of Nafplion 1969, Nees Morfes 1964, Nea Galerie (Ipiti Plaka) 1965, Tholos 1968, Municipal Library of Nafplion 1966, Thymeli 1983, Cultural Center of Municipal of Athens 1993, etc.

iii) Group exhibitions in Greece: Greek American Union, Salonica, Nafplion, Argos, Patra, Tripoli, Kalamata, Heraklion (Crete), Galerie Aenaon (1992 and 1994), etc.

iv) International exhibitions: 1964 Biennale, Alexandria (Egypt); 1970 International Biennale Zagreb (Croatia); 1974 International Biarritz du Comte de Galerie Vallombreuse (France).

v) Personal exhibitions in Paris: Galerie Mouffe (1960); Hier et demain (1960 and 1961); and Galerie Dunkan 1977, where she was awarded the silver medal of the French Republic.

vi) International exhibitions in France: a) Drawing Room of Independent, Paris (1981, 1983, and 1985). b) Cote d'Azur, where she was awarded the Grand Prix (1985). c) Cannes Salle Carnot Palais de Congres, in which she received a special award. d) Arles Sale van Gogh (1987), in which she received the honor of Excellency. e) Aix en Provence Salle Vang Gogh (1987).

Paintings of Maria Angelidou are exhibited in ministries and organizations and are collected by art collectors. Maria Angelidou was also a member of the Association of Arts in Greece, in which she was a general secretary for one year. She received an honorary pension from the Hellenic Republic.  

Maria Angelidou lived most of her life in her home - an atelier in Athens at Plateia Amerikis square. Before her demise, she considered returning to Paris while she also had a proposal to work in San Francisco, US. But in November 2004, she died from lung cancer at the Iaso clinic in Athens. She was buried in Nafplion, where she was born, and her sister lived. 

Thanks for reading!