Paris, 20 May 2026 - Poésie (Annonciation) by Constantinos Parthenis (1878-1967) was a monumental and mesmerizing work distinguished by its linear elegance, evocative palette, and rhythmic composition, reflecting Parthenis' deep commitment to Symbolist and allegorical themes. It sold for €1,258,400, setting a new auction record for the artist and becoming the most expensive Greek painting of the 20th century at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr's Greek Sale in Paris on 20 May 2026. It was the largest painting of the artist ever offered at auction and was estimated at €300,000 to 500,000.
The Greek Art Sale totalled €4,333,720 and achieved a 72% sold by lot and 99% sold by value.
The Greek Sale was as ever a collaborative sale put together by Bonhams in Paris and Art Expertise, its associates in Athens. Terpsichore Angelopoulou, Art Expertise Director, said: "This was a historic auction, marked by Parthenis' major record, the exceptional prices achieved by Moralis, a new artist record for Nikolaos Lytras, and a total turnover exceeding €4.4 million. This spectacular result demonstrates the current momentum of Greek art, a market firmly backed by high quality and timeless value. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to both our established and newer collectors, who continuously contribute to the flourishing of the Greek art market."
Other highlights included:
Full Moon H by Yiannis Moralis (1916-2009), the master of geometric abstraction, sold for €508,400, twice its estimate of €250,000-350,000. This painting demonstrated once more a solid structure, purity of form, disciplined rhythm, harmonious proportions, and an ingenious interplay of gently flowing curves. An earlier work by Moralis was Le Printemps which reminded the archetypal universe of an Ionian frieze. It sold for €305,200, twice its pre-sale estimate. The architectural motifs that echo fragments of an ancient Greek temple or a neoclassical Athenian mansion, the shallow compositional depth, reminiscent of sculptural relief, and the austerity of the horizontal and vertical lines set up a perfectly balanced geometric edifice from which the human form emerges. Magnificent in its simple grandeur, this striking work echoes the timeless values of ancient Greek art.
From a private collection in Athens, Sur le toit-terrasse, ile de Tinos by Nikolaos Lytras (1883-1927), oil on canvas painted circa 1923-1926, sold for €229,000, more than twice its high estimate, setting a new auction record for a work by the artist. This painting was one of the twenty oils that represented Lytras's oeuvre at the 1936 Venice Biennale. Capturing the brilliance of the Cycladic landscape, while demonstrating the artist's interpretative approach to nature, it describes a highly expressive painting style where bold brushwork and thick layers of paint create a strong physical presence.
Among the four works by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika (1906-1994) offered at auction, The Stream II, acrylic on canvas painted in 1977 sold for €165,500. A luxuriant composition charged with explosive energy and pagan vitality, this painting vividly expresses Ghika's mystical bond with nature. Rocks, plants, and water seem to partake in a Dionysian ritual, continually shifting between tangible forms and evocative allusions, immersing the scene in an atmosphere of perpetual transformation and renewal. Pont à Santorin, oil on canvas executed in 1963 by Ghika sold for €76,600. A cosmogonic vortex of arches and irregular walls, this pulsating composition offered a pictorial interpretation of Santorini's labyrinthine architecture. Beginning with a Cézannesque understanding of the landscape's underlying geometric order, Ghika deconstructs the scene into fragmented elements in keeping with post-Cubist principles, only to reassemble it with renewed rhythm, vitality, and poetic intensity.
Infinity field, Torino series is an acrylic on canvas by Theodoros Stamos (1922-1997), co-founder of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism sold for €114,700. Stamos was considered a modern postwar master whose sensitive and luminous Infinity Field, charged with sustained energy and tangible presence, exemplifies his work.
Le Zeybek by Nicholaos Gysis (1842-1901), oil on canvas painted circa 1873 sold for €89,300 against an estimate of €50,000-70,000. In 1873, Nikolaos Gysis and Nikiforos Lytras travelled to Asia Minor to study local life, even painting on-site, an unusual activity that briefly led to their arrest on suspicion of espionage before their release by the Greek consul. This portrait shows a young Zeybek figure, rendered with a restrained palette that highlights his striking traditional costume, especially the bright white garments and elaborate headgear. The Zeybeks, known for their independence and resistance to Ottoman modernization, are depicted as symbols of strong regional identity and defiance.
(Press Release)
