YIANNOYLIS CHALEPAS ΓΙΑΝΝΟΥΛΗΣ ΧΑΛΕΠΑΣ
Born in 1851 Died in 1938
You could say that Yiannoulis Chalepas was destined to be a sculptor. He
was born into a family of famous and well off marble cutters on the island of
Tinos. His father had studios in Bucharest, Romania, Piraeus and Turkey. (1) Very
early in his life, he gained prominence as an artist to be watched with his Sleeping Girl (Κοιμωμένη),
a funeral monument so well loved today that it has become a symbol of the First
Cemetery of Athens.
.
His Life
Young Chalepas enrolled in the school of Arts in Athens and studied sculpture with the neoclassicist Leonidas Drosis. He was granted a scholarship from the Evaggelistrias Foundation of Tinos and continued his studies in Munich under Max Ritter. While still a student in Munich, Chalepas was awarded prizes for two of his works: The Beautiful Woman’s Tale:
A detail:
and Satyr Playing with Eros, a work which
he exhibited in Athens in 1875.
 |
Satyr Playing with Eros (1875-1877)
(Now in the National Sculpture Gallery in Goudi, Athens)
|
His bas-relief entitled Affection (Φιλοστοργία) was shown at the same exhibition in Athens.
 |
| Affection (1875) |
Bas-relief is considered, by many sculptors, to be the most difficult art. It
takes most artists years of effort to acquire the skill in creating the appropriate
illusion of depth, using light and shadows. And yet, this wonderful relief by
an artist in his mid-twenties already displayed the finesse of Greece’s ancient
masters.
In 1878, Chalepas’ Sleeping Girl (η "Κοιμωμένη)
was commissioned for the First Cemetery. We have found
five other sleeping ladies in the cemetery. Each is lovely in her own way, but
this one is perfect: the angle of her face, the way her lips are ever so
slightly open, the manner in which her legs seem to have changed position just seconds
previously, and that beautifully draped sheet. The overall effect is of ineffable
tranquility.
Section 1, Number 135
Many
people come to the First Cemetery simply to view Chalepas’ Sleeping Beauty; many leave flowers or place a rose in her hand.
She
can be found on the main walkway to the Agios Lazarus Church.
This monument
was commissioned by the father of Sofia Afendaki; she died of tuberculosis at
the age of eighteen. Other versions have been written about her untimely death.(2)
His Illness
Later
in 1877 Chalepas suffered a nervous breakdown. His symptoms were disturbing – suicidal
tendencies and outbursts of anger during which he would destroy his own work.
His father first took him to Italy to recuperate, but when they returned to
Greece, the symptoms reappeared. In 1888 a doctor diagnosed ‘insanity’ and he
was sent to a psychiatric clinic in Corfu. Believing that his art was the cause
of his illness, the doctors forbade him to draw or mold with clay. How
frustrating that must have been can only be imagined.
When his father died in 1901 his mother
brought him back to Tinos. He was 50 years old. She too, was convinced that his
art was the cause of his madness; she kept a close eye on him and destroyed
anything he secretly made. It was a
difficult time for mother and son living in such a small community. That Chalepas was the resident village ‘mad man’ could not have helped the situation
either at a time when mental illness was so little understood, especially in a
village setting. When his mother died in 1916, Chalepas was eking out a living
as a sheep herder and living in complete poverty.
Gradually
he began to work again with clay. His new work was so different from much of
his previous work that this period came to be called ‘the second phase’ by the
many critics who began to admire his talent.
Compare
his Reclining
Woman (1931) to the Sleeping Girl (1877):
 |
| Reclining Woman(ex-texnon.blogspot.com) |
The
difference is startling. The Sleeping
Girl could almost be taken as emblematic of nineteenth century
sensibilities in both detail and sentiment. The
Reclining Woman embodies 20th century existential angst.
Chalepas
himself put it quite another way when he said
I prefer “before Phidias period” sculptures.
By that he must be referring to the sense
of becoming of pre-classical sculptural figures that would appeal to so
many 20th century artists rather than classical perfection.
The
themes of his work remained the same as those of his first period: satyrs,
Eros, a Medea, a reclining woman. But the work of the ‘second phase’ was ‘free,
spontaneous and instinctive’.
Many
artists and intellectuals took an interest in Chalepas in the 1920s. Thomas
Thomopoulos (3),
a fellow-sculptor who is also represented in the First Cemetery, visited
him in May of 1922 and persuaded him to make models of his works. Thomopoulos was
so impressed by what he saw that he wrote to the Head of the Department of the
Athens Art School, describing the terrible conditions under which Halepas was
working and saying: “I believe without any hesitation that the daimon of the craftsman has
led him to new creations which are pure archaic art, counter to the classical
style. I believe that it is our holy duty toward this great creator, Yiannoulis Chalepas to recommend to the competent authorities to salvage his work as a
burst of light for the rebirth of Modern Greek sculpture.” This was
amazing praise and extremely generous as well.
The
Head of the art school, Georgios Iakovidis immediately addressed the Ministry
of Education who in turn sent a specialist to Tinos to make gypsum models and
to send these pieces to Athens with the aim of supporting Halepas.
Two years later, on March 31st
1925 the Academy of Athens organized an exhibition for him. Later he was
awarded with the ‘Excellency of Art and Letters’. The next year artist N.
Velmos organized another exhibition for him. His second career was well and truly launched.
A Bas Relief of his caring niece, Irene V. Chalepas,
1935:
His Last Years
In 1930 his niece, Irini invited him to live in
Athens with her and so it happened that, in his last years,
Yiannoulis Chalepas was surrounded with love, respect and the admiration of
fellow sculptors.
In 1930, aged 79, he visited his Sleeping Girl in
the First Cemetery with a group of admirers.
His
laconic comment: ‘My work now is far
superior’.
In 1934 the Ministry of
Education awarded him with a special honorary medal and in 1935 he participated
in an exhibition with the artist Demetris Galanis.
Other Works in the Cemetery
Still, like most sculptors, he
created works for customers whose own aesthetic needed to be considered. Many
such works were grave monuments, not all in Athens. In 1931 and 1932, he
completed two monuments that can be seen in the First Cemetery’s Plaza.
 |
| 1932 Plaza West, Number 15: Family Pappadakis |
The Politis family grave, 1931, Plaza, Number
One
Both are excellent in their way, but not representative of his ‘second phase’ art.
Halepas has been recognized by
his fellow Tinians as well. In the village of
Pirgos you can visit his house, now the Yiannoulis Chalepas Museum and see sketches and sculptures produced during the ‘second
phase’ of his work as well as visit to
the Panormos' Artists Museum in
Pyrgos. The National Sculpture Gallery
in Goudi in Athens also displays his work.
Just a year after he died,
five of his works were sent to New York for an exhibition. Approximately ten
retrospective exhibitions of his works have been organized since his death.
His Grave in the First Cemetery
Section
4, Number 129.
The Archangel
is his own creation
Yianoulis Chalepas died in 1938. It is easy to simply pass by his grave
because it is placed rather awkwardly at the end of a row, something of an
add-on you may or not notice on your way to somewhere else. The bronze archangel is a copy of one of his
later works (1931) and was apparently chosen by his friends. It is an unusual
representation – not our favorite Halepas but worth a close look, especially
when you know his story. That halo is an almost whimsical add-on. A halo placed
‘outside of the frame’ just might have appealed to this wonderful, but tortured
artist.
Map
Footnotes
(1) At
the First Cemetery we found three pieces that are signed: ‘Of the studio Chalepas’
which are works produced at his father’s studio where Yiannoulis helped as a
youngster.
Bas Relief Family Nikolaos
Theocharis Section 5/253
Family Kiappe Section 1/404
Ioannis Fotiou 1/264
(2) One
story has it that, at the age of eighteen, Sofia poisoned herself for the love
of an Italian opera singer when he failed to answer her letters. It turned out
that he had not received them and, upon finding out about her death, he too
killed himself. It’s a great story…
(3) Thomas
Thomopoulos is also represented in The First Cemetery. His works will have a
separate entry.
Sources
http://www.eikastikon.gr/kritikesparousiaseis/steiakakis_halepas.html
Marina Lambraki-
Plaka
http://www.tinos.biz/ghalepas.htm
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