Spyridon Prosalentis (;

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, 1830 –

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 1895) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

portrait painter of the Heptanese school. His first name is sometimes seen as Spyros.

Biography

Prosalentis was descended from a noble Byzantine family, who fled to areas under the control of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

after the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

. His father was Pavlos Prosalentis, who is considered to be the first significant modern Greek sculptor and, in 1811, created Greece's first art school. His earliest lessons naturally came from his father. Later, he finished his education at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia The (English: Academy of Fine Arts of Venice) is a public tertiary academy of art in Venice, Italy. History The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded on 24 September 1750; the statute dates from 1756. The first director was Giovann ...

. He remained in the Austrian Empire until 1865 and, when he returned, received an appointment as Professor of painting at the

Athens School of Fine Arts The Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA; , ΑΣΚΤ) is a Greek higher education institution, specializing in the visual arts. History The Athens School of Fine Arts was established on 12 January 1837, known as the ''School for the Arts''. In the ...

. For unknown reasons, he resigned from that position the following year and went back to Venice. In 1870, he won a major award at the "Exhibition of Fine Arts" in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, and was invited to return to Greece by King

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

. He settled in Athens and immediately began to create murals in the chapel of the

Old Royal Palace The Old Royal Palace ( ''Palaiá Anáktora'') is the first royal palace of modern Greece. It is neoclassical building situated at the heart of modern Athens, facing onto Syntagma Square. It was constructed between 1836 and 1843 to serve as th ...

. In 1876, a second chair of painting was established at the School of Fine Arts and he received another appointment as Professor, a position he held until his death.

Spyridon Vikatos Spyridon or Spyros Vikatos (; 24 September 1878 – 6 June 1960) was a Greek painter and professor. He is considered one of the later members of the The Munich School, Munich School. Life Spyridon Vikatos was born in Argostoli, Cephalonia, in 1 ...

, Dimitrios Geraniotis and Nikolaos Ferbos were among his students. Upon commission from the Royal Family of Greece, Prosalentis completed several series of portraits of notable personalities from the

Greek Revolution 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 ...

, the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

, and the War and Navy Departments. He also painted some domestic

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes, but those are much less familiar.Προσαλέντης Σπυρίδων - Πινακοθήκη της Ανωτάτης Σχολής Καλών Τεχνών.
Prosalentis artworks are exhibited at the

National Gallery of Greece The National Gallery (, ''Ethniki Pinakothiki'') is an art museum located on Vasilissis Sofias avenue in the Pangrati district, Athens, Greece. It is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century to the 20th century. The newly renov ...

, the Municipal Gallery of Corfu, the Teloglion Foundation of Arts, the Averoff Gallery etc. His sons, Pavlos and , and his daughters, and , also became well-known painters.''Painting in Corfu'', Annex of Corfu, National Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum - Ministry of Culture, p. 74-76.

Gallery of portraits

File:ThemistoklisTrikoupis.jpg, Portrait of
,
a hero of the Greek Revolution. File:KalidonaTrikoupis.jpg, Portrait of
Kalidona Trikoupis, Themistoklis' wife. File:Dimitrios Ypsilantis - Sp. Prosalentis.JPG, Portrait of

Dimitrios Ypsilantis Demetrios Ypsilantis (alternatively spelled Demetrius Ypsilanti; , ; , ; 179316 August 1832) was a Greek army officer who served in both the Hellenic Army and the Imperial Russian Army. Ypsilantis played an important role in the Greek War of In ...

File:MakryiannisProsalentis.jpg, Portrait of
Yannis Makriyannis File:Panagiotis Giatrakos.jpg, Portrait of
File:Yiannis Dyovouniotis - Greek Fighter.jpg, Portrait of
Yiannis Dyovouniotis

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosalentis, Spyridon 1830 births 1895 deaths United States of the Ionian Islands people Expatriates in the Austrian Empire Artists from Corfu Greek portrait painters Painters of the Heptanese school 19th-century Greek painters Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia alumni Academic staff of the Athens School of Fine Arts