High-quality print – Diamantis

Adamantios Diamantis (1900-1994), The World of Cyprus (detail), Cyprus Collection

High-quality print, framed

Diamantis’s monumental and arguably most famous work, The World of Cyprus, was created between 1967 and 1972. The piece is made up of 67 different figures, 61 of which were based on the artist’s plein air drawings that he had made earlier, between 1931 and 1959. These drawings were selected from the hundreds he completed during the many years he wandered throughout the island and its villages capturing, with love, enthusiasm and faith in their worth, the elements that he believed made up the character of the people and the place.

As can be seen in this detail, Diamantis placed emphasis on line in this composition, using colour to highlight the overall effect of the drawing. For his choice of palette, he reconciled his aesthetic approach with the austere colours of traditional Cypriot clothing: black and white. Diamantis chose an earthy brown for the third colour, to instil the work with the needed warmth and because this colour symbolises the deep connection between the Cypriot villager and the land.