Stratis
Eleftheriadis - Teriade was born in Mytilini in 1897 and died in Paris in
1983. At the age of eighteen he left for Paris to study law. His real
passion, however, was art theory and critic. At the time he was in Paris
modern art was first taking form and gradually Teriade became part of the
circle of the pioneering modern artists and their proponents.
He entered into a significant and enduring
collaboration with established editors and publishers of modern art. He
devoted himself to publishing periodicals, books, and articles concerning
art. After many years of being well-known and highly respected he
established his own publishing house, VERVE, in 1937.
One of Teriade's most significant contibutions was
the recognition that he offered to the -until then- neglected work of
Theophilos. It is solely due to Teriade's vision that today Theophilos'
unique spirit is preserved. We know Theophilos through the works that the
painted on canvas after the request of Teriade. Teriade him
internationally by arranging a display in the Louvre, and thus attracting
the attention of many people. Teriade financed entirely and donated to
Mytilini in 1964 the Theophilos Museum, which houses the artist's latest
works, like the one on this page.
At the time he thought of building a Museum-Library
to display his work as an editor and publisher. This idea materialized in
the museum of today which he also donated to his home town in 1979. The
Museum of Modern Arts serves as an Open Book, in which visitors are
introduced to proofs, original works and critiques of many pioneers of the
modern art, including Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, and others.
