大象传媒

The village of Geraki continues to surprise us with its rich artistic heritage! Residents have attributed two painted ceilings in two houses in the village of Geraki to the renowned writer, artist, and hagiographer Fotis Kontoglou (1895-1965), who arrived in Greece as a refugee from Aivali in Turkey due to the population exchange that ensued after the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

The hagiographer鈥檚 interest in Geraki first appears in his book 韦伪尉蔚委未喂伪 (Taxidia, 1928), in which Kontoglou narrates the travels he undertook in Greece and the Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, and Turkish architectural remains that he encountered. In 韦伪尉蔚委未喂伪, Kontoglou mentions the castle of Geraki, which the French baron Guy de Nivelet built in 1209. The castle includes several late Byzantine churches constructed after the Franks left. Kontoglou鈥撯�搘ho is considered one of the main artists of the neo-Byzantine revival鈥撯�揳 little over 30 years later, in 1962, published a description of the castle. He writes 鈥溛Ｏ勧酱 渭苇蟽畏 位苇谓蔚 蟺峤枷� 纬魏蟻蔚渭委蟽伪谓蔚 蟺蟻峤� 蠂蟻蠈谓喂伪 蟿峤肝� 蟿慰峥栂囄� 蟺慰峤何何课瓜勎段滴� 魏伪蟿峤� 蟿峤� 尾伪蟽委位蔚渭伪, 纬喂峤� 谓峤� 尾位苇蟺慰蠀谓蔚 峒�蟺峤� 蟿峤� 蠂蠅蟻喂峤� 蟿峤� 蠂慰蟻峤� 蟺慰峤何何轿肯呂轿� 魏维胃蔚 蠂蟻蠈谓慰 渭苇蟽伪 蟽蟿峤� 螝维蟽蟿蟻慰鈥� (They say that years ago, they tore down the wall in the middle [of the castle] that looks towards the sunrise, so that the village could see the dance that they do every year inside the castle). Kontoglou highlights the village鈥檚 connection to the castle of Geraki and its Byzantine history.

At the moment, the painted ceilings have not been studied by art historians nor have they been dated. For more information on the Generation of the 1930s, for which Kontoglou was a critical figure, join us at the conference 鈥淩econsidering the Generation of the 1930s: The Roots and Breadth of Greek Modernism鈥� taking place at the University of California, Los Angeles on November 18-19, 2023.