Thanos Tsingos (1914-1965)
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Thanos Tsingos was an Abstract Greek painter who spent much of his life and artistic career in Paris, as well as in Greece. He initially worked in Athens as an architect until he was called to fight in the war in 1939. While he was serving his time in the army, he was condemned for being an activist and sentenced to death. He was eventually freed and escaped his death sentence and went on to become a revered artist. Despite his dark background, Tsingos would become known for his beautiful paintings of pink flowers.
At the recommendation of fellow artist Le Corbusier, Tsingos traveled to Brazil in 1946 where he worked alongside other architects. The following year, he returned to Paris, and met his new friend and future wife, the avant-garde actress Christine Mavraoidj.
It wasn’t until late 1949-1950 that Tsingos truly began his career as an artist. He started out creating scenery and backgrounds for the theater. In fact, Tsingos bought the Théatre de la Gaîté in Montparnasse with his wife, and created a number of paintings for his own theater.
Tsingos held his first one man show in 1953 at the Studio Facchetti in Paris where he was coined a “tachiste” painter by art critic Charles Estienne. “Tachiste” is a method of painting popular in the mid-20th century in France where abstract paintings were created by applying thick smatterings of paint onto the canvas. These patches created textures (impasto) and depth, and became a calling card for Tsingos’ style. Tsingos would go outside of the box and often used his fingers instead of his paint brush to apply his paint. His wife was quoted in saying that he would also use his hands, knives, spoons and even his entire body to create his masterpieces, often throwing his paint right on the canvas, and even shaking and flipping the canvas around. Much like the style of the Fauves, Tsingo’s was also known to apply his paint directly from the tubes without mixing his colors on a palette.
The following year in 1954, Tsingos separated from his wife, and that same year he exhibited his work at the Salon des Realites Nouvelles. He also held exhibitions at the Galerie Kleber in Paris in 1955, and the following year in Paris at the Galerie Iris Clert. Towards the end of his career, he began to move towards a different style and thought of painting known as the “New Figuration.” While his style is fairly easy to identify, Tsingos also created an equally easy to identify signature, a basic “Tsingos” scrawl, often incorporating the date of the painting along with it.
Today, Tsingos’ work is housed all over the world and is still highly sought after by collectors and art appreciators. Still wondering about a French “tachiste” style painting hanging in your home? Contact us…it could be by Thanos Tsingos.