Rare, 1974, Aginoras Asteriadis, To Spiti tou Swarts sta Ambelakia, Greece, 1/1500

Αγήνορα Αστεριάδη

Το Σπίτι του Σβαρτς Στ’ Αμπελάκια

Επανέκδοση 1974

Aginoras Asteriadis

The Schwarz House in Ambelakia

Published by Ora Gallery Athens in 1974

73 Pages

Second Limited Edition 

1/1500 copies

Original Soft Binding

21 cm x 27.5 cm

Aginoras Asteriadis (1898 – 1977) was a Greek painter, iconographer and engraver. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1915 to 1921. In 1925 he was appointed professor of engraving at the high school of Grevena. During the interwar period, he participated in the founding of the avant-garde artistic group “Omas Techni”. A modest but pioneering artist, he tried to combine in his work the Greek folk tradition, the spirit of Byzantine iconography and the teachings of Cubism and other artistic movements of the early 20th century. His paintings are usually two-dimensional, but this does not mean that they are not realistic. As for his subject matter, it varies from the countryside and the urban landscape to human nature. 

Ambelakia is a picturesque and historically significant village in Thessaly, at the foot of Mount Ossa (Kissavos), near Tempi. The village is known for its pioneering 18th-century cooperative organization, its traditional architecture, and its connection with Georg Mayer von Schwarz. Ambelakia experienced enormous econo mic prosperity thanks to the production and processing of cotton yarn, which was dyed with a natural red dye from the rizari plant. In 1778, the first cooperative in Europe was founded, the Ambelakia Cooperative, which had approximately 6,000 members. Ambelakia cotton was exported throughout Europe, making the village an international trading center. One of the most impressive buildings in the village is the Mansion of George Mayer von Schwarz (1798). Built with characteristics of Macedonian architecture, it has rich murals and carved wooden ceilings.Today it operates as a museum, presenting the history of the cooperative.