Alekos Fassianos, who is considered one of the most important modern Greek painters, has died at the age of 86. He died at his home on Sunday after a long illness.

Who was Alekos Fassianos?

Born in Athens on December 16, 1935, Alekos Fassianos studied violin at the Athens Conservatory and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1955 to 1960.

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Following his first exhibition in the early 1960s, Alekos went to Paris on a French state scholarship to study lithography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and ended up staying in the city for close to 35 years.

Although some of his early paintings were in a contemporary style, he mostly drew inspiration from Greek popular art and Ancient Greek mythology. He was also inspired by Byzantine themes. Besides painting and lithography, he also illustrated books and designed theater costumes.

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He was widely celebrated in Greece, with his works adorning public spaces, including a mural at an Athens subway station.

In France, he was made a commander of the Order of Arts and Letters and an officer of the Legion of Honor. Alekos Fassianos exhibited widely in Europe and Latin America. 

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He is survived by his wife, Mariza, and two daughters.

Following his death, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a statement, “All the work of Fassianos, the colours that filled his canvases, the multidimensional forms that dominated his paintings, exude Greece.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute to Fassianos, saying he “always balanced between realism and abstraction”.

Fassianos, he added, “leaves us a precious heritage.”

With inputs from The Associated Press