What I can see

This built-in relief marble portrait depicts a leading Greek writer, Alexandros Papadiamantis. Its dimensions are 0.75 X 0.50m and Papadiamantis is depicted serious, with a low gaze, which symbolises his frugal life and his feeling of nostalgia. It is framed by an arch reminiscent of a tunnel. At the bottom, his name is written in an artistic way. The location of the relief is not accidental, as Papadiamantis and many other intellectuals and artists of his time frequented the cafe in Dexamenis Square.

What I can't see

Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) was a leading novel writer. He began as a novelist, but flourished as a short story writer. His works have an artistic tone and realism coexists with ethography, which becomes psychography in several cases. His subjects are quite repetitive, always in the context of a bucolic Greece and its morals. He witnessed a disappearing world and era that made him feel nostalgic and constantly wrote about. His works are many, but according to popular opinion, his masterpiece is “The Murderess”. It is a complex work that highlights the dead end of poverty in a cruel way, shows the redemption through a silent crime and the titanic inner conflicts of the heroine. The relief is the work of Thomas Thomopoulos, who donated it to the Municipality of Athens.

Info

• Address: Dexamenis Sq.

Bibliography