Night shift, 1938

Alexandros Koroyannakis, who had studied painting (1924 - 1929), was self-taught in engraving. He began to be involved with it in 1936, and Nude, which must date from around 1936 - 1937, is one of his first attempts. Two things point to this conclusion: first, the use of the technique of linoleum, which as a surface is easier to engrave, and, second, the rendering of the nude more in the manner of painting. Use is made here of ochre and brown for the chiaroscuro, while the lineation is carried out diffidently and with great care. Just two years later, Koroyannakis presented in the First Panhellenic Exhibition of Greek Original Engraving (1938) ten woodcuts on upright wood, among which were Night Shift (No. 129), Harvest (No. 135), and Grape Harvest (No. 136). All three works describe scenes with people working, with more realism and powerful figures in Night Shift, though with more lyricism and a narrative approach in Harvest and Grape Harvest. In any event, in both these subjects the artist focuses his attention on the constant, repeated movement of the women in the fields and vineyards. By means of flexible, cyclical lines he creates a sound balance between the black surfaces and the details which are drawn with fine engraving. Both works were awarded the Gold Prize at the Paris International Exhibition of 1937.