Eleni Boukoura-Altamoura (Greek: Ελένη Μπούκουρα-Αλταμούρα; 1821–1900), also known as Eleni Boukouras or Helen Boukoura, was a Greek painter. She is noted as being the first great female painter of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Biography

Eleni was an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded ...

. She was born on the island of

Spetses Spetses (, "Pityussa") is an island in Attica, Greece. It is counted among the Saronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split into Argolis and Corinthia. In ancient ...

in 1821. She was the daughter of Yannis Boukouras, a wealthy aristocrat and entertainer who had opened one of the first theaters in Athens following the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

. Eleni developed an interest in art from a young age. Seeing this, her father hired Italian artist Raffaello Ceccoli as a tutor for his daughter. She continued her studies, and at the age of 27 left for

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

with a letter of recommendation from Ceccoli to begin her education as an artist. While studying in Naples and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, she dressed as a man in order to attend art classes. While studying in Italy, Eleni began a relationship with Italian painter

Francesco Saverio Altamura Francesco Saverio Altamura (5 August 1822 – 5 January 1897) was an Italian painter, known for Romantic style canvases depicting mainly historical events. Biography left, ''Medieval Marriage: Marriage of Buondelmonte'' He was born in Foggia, ...

, with whom she had three children. She later converted to Catholicism and married Altamura to legitimize the relationship, though her husband would eventually leave Eleni for his mistress, British painter

Jane Benham Hay Jane Eleanor Benham Hay (1829 – 11 January 1904) was an English Victorian painter and illustrator. She was loosely associated with two important artistic movements of the mid-19th century: the Pre-Raphaelite painters of Britain and the Mac ...

. Eleni and two of her children (her youngest son, Alexander, remained in the custody of her estranged husband) relocated to Athens, where Eleni made a living through painting and teaching art lessons. In 1872 she and her daughter Sophia moved to her family home on Spetses when Sophia contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Sophia died of the disease before the end of the year at the age of 18, and so Eleni returned to Athens. In 1876 her son

Ioannis Ioannis or Ioannes (), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John (given name), John and the Arabic name Yahya (name), Yahya . Notable people with the name include: *John I Tzimiskes, Ioannis ...

, himself a noted seascape painter, finished his studies in

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and returned to live with his mother in Athens. Just as with his sister before him, Ioannis contracted tuberculosis, succumbing to the disease in 1878. After his death, she burned some of her son's paintings along with many of her own works, and retreated from society. At some point she returned to Spetses, where she died in relative obscurity in 1900.

Legacy

Eleni Boukoura is considered one of first great female artists of Modern Greece. The tragedies she experienced in her life were the subject of Greek author Rhea Galanaki's novel '' Eleni, or, Nobody,'' which was later adapted into a play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boukora-Altamoura, Eleni 19th-century Greek painters 1821 births 1900 deaths People from Spetses Greek women painters Arvanites