Georgios Jakobides (Γεώργιος Ιακωβίδης; 11 January 1853 – 13 December 1932) was a painter and one of the main representatives of the
Greek artistic movement of the
Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the
National Gallery of Greece in
Athens.
Life

He was born in
Chidira,
Lesbos,
Ottoman Empire. At the age of 13, he traveled to
Smyrna to live with his uncle and study at the Evangelical School. From 1870 to 1876, Jakobides studied sculpture and painting at the
Athens School of Fine Arts, and in 1877 he went to the
Academy of Fine Arts in
Munich on a scholarship to continue his painting studies under
Karl Theodor von Piloty.
In Munich, he lived for 17 years where he worked in his studio, painting mythological scenes,
genre pictures, and portraits. His work is influenced by German
academic Realism. His most famous paintings were of children but it said that after his wife's death in 1889, he stopped painting happy themes. In the capital of
Bavaria he was regarded as a successful German artist selling many of his works at high prices. The Greek government invited him in 1900 to return to
Athens to organize the
National Gallery of Athens, and in 1904 he was appointed Director of the
Athens School of Fine Arts, where he taught for 25 years. At this time, additional to his themes he produced formal portraits of eminent Greeks (e.g.,
Queen Sophia). He opposed all new artistic tendencies, including
Impressionism and
Expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, but supported younger artists to follow their own individual artistic tendencies.
He was awarded at five international exhibits: among those in Berlin 1891 and in Paris 1900.
His works are found in the National Gallery of Athens, private collections and in museums and art galleries around the world including art galleries in Germany and the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
.
His opus consists of some two hundred oil paintings, several of which are on display in Europe and overseas. His son, the actor Michalis Iakovides, donated his personal journal – which includes a list of his paintings between 1878 and 1919 – to the National Gallery of Greece in 1951.
He died in Athens in 1932.
Legacy
In addition to his work as a painter, Jakobides was commissioned to create designs for a number of modern Greek coins including the 1 and 2
drachma coins from 1910 and 1911, the 50
lepta of 1921, and the 10 lepta of 1922.
Gallery
File:George Iakovidis - Children's Concert.JPG, ''Children's Concert''
File:Grandma's Favorite.jpg, ''Grandma's Favorite''
File:Portrait of King George I of Greece, National Historical Museum, 8 March 2020.jpg, ''Portrait of King George I''
File:Queen Sofia of Greece.jpg, ''Portrait of Queen Sofia of Greece''
File:Pavlos Melas.jpg, '' Pavlos Melas''
File:The First Steps 1893.jpg, ''The First Steps'' (1893)
File:The Girl.jpg, ''The Girl''
File:Jakobides-2.jpg, ''Bavarian village''
File:The Favorite by Georgios Iakovidis.jpg, ''The Favorite''
File:Georgios Jakobides Girl reading c1882.jpg, ''Girl Reading''
File:The Naughty Grandson.jpg, ''The Naughty Grandson''
File:Cold_Shower_by_Georgios_Iakovidis.jpg, ''Cold Shower''
See also
*
Munich School
*
Art in modern Greece
References
External links
Jakobides Digital MuseumNational Gallery of Athens Official website* Andreas S. Ioannou, ''19th Century Greek Art''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakobides, Georgios
1853 births
1932 deaths
19th-century German male artists
19th-century Greek painters
20th-century Greek male artists
20th-century Greek painters
Athens School of Fine Arts faculty
Greek art curators
Greek male painters
Greek portrait painters
Greeks from the Ottoman Empire
Members of the Academy of Athens (modern)
Munich School
People from Eresos-Antissa