Nude 

Dimitris Mytaras painted this Nude, in 1981, with oils. The materiality of paint – its viscosity, its capacity to be layered, blended, and textured – really defines the aesthetic of this piece. Oil paint, as we know, has a long and fascinating history. It was initially developed in the early 15th century, giving artists a way to achieve luminous effects and realistic detail. But here, Mytaras sets those historical associations aside and instead focuses on the sheer physicality of the medium. You can almost feel the artist’s hand, the gestural quality, and the speed of the brushstrokes across the canvas. The loose, expressive brushwork and the vibrant color palette give the work an immediacy and energy. In doing so, Mytaras reminds us that the value of a painting lies not just in the image it represents, but also in the labor and skill involved in its creation. By foregrounding the materiality of paint and the act of painting, he questions traditional hierarchies between fine art and craft.