Thetis 1973

Alekos Kontopoulos created ‘Thetis’, using an avant-garde style that places an emphasis on emotion rather than realism. The post-war period in Greece saw artists grappling with questions of national identity and cultural heritage, and this work by Kontopoulos is no exception. With its dreamlike quality, the painting presents an emotional interpretation of its subject. Kontopoulos evokes the ancient Greek goddess Thetis, imbuing the work with an ethereal sense of timelessness. In particular, he captures the fraught relationship between mortality and immortality, human and divine. By presenting the figure of Thetis in such a unique, abstracted form, Kontopoulos invites the viewer to consider the complex layers of identity, culture, and history that shape both the artwork and its reception. In essence, it represents the experience of cultural memory.