Great, underestimated art born of tormented soul

By Margarita Pournara

His few surviving works are of heart-wrenching beauty and acclaimed Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis had called him the ?Greek van Gogh.? Even if you disagree over the magnitude of his talent, the parallel still holds in terms of the two men?s tragic fates. Looking at the life and art of painter Nikolaos Dragoumis (1874-1933), son of a reputed Greek family, you can only feel sympathy for a man who had the misfortune not to be born at the right time ? that is, to have found himself in the family, social and historical context that would have allowed him to express all of the charisma of his idiosyncratic nature. The frustration he felt may even have played a role in triggering the mental illness that tormented his soul and led to his confinement in several asylums across Europe until his death at the Dromokaitio mental hospital in Athens.

An exhibition dedicated to this unique ? in the annals of Greek visual arts ? personality, recently inaugurated by the National Bank Cultural Foundation (MIET) in Athens (curated by Dionysis Kapsalis with help from Voula Livani and Ioanna Matzavinou), reveals a great artist whose name and work has remained relatively unknown to the mainstream public.

The precious fragments of his art and life were deftly and patiently compiled by Nikos Paisios, who studied archives and collections while conducting fieldwork in France, Switzerland and Greece. Paisios worked as a doctor at Gennimatas Hospital in the Greek capital, specializing in infectious diseases, but has dedicated all of his spare time to studying art. His knowledge and sensibility led him to study the life of Dragoumis after he first came across the artist?s his name in a newspaper article written by the first director of the MIET,...