High-quality print – Diamantis

Adamantios Diamantis, Agony II, from the Cyprus Collection, in a wooden frame

In 1963 Adamantios Diamantis delivered Agony II, the second part of his ‘Agonies’ series. In the foreground two terrified female figures are trying to escape. Symbolically, one is holding a child and the other a baby goat. The earthy red colouring of the bare parts of their bodies is reminiscent of red-figure vases and Minoan frescoes, contrasting with their illuminated white garments. The two figures are set against a dark, inaccessible, utterly arid mountain landscape, which becomes even more frightening with the turbulent sky in the background portending a storm. The stifling, antirealistic, exitless and inhospitable space is of prime importance in the rendering of the subject. Symbolic value is also attributed to the lighting of the work, especially the contrast between light and darkness; life and death. The composition contains a spiritual, transcendental element that draws the viewer into a contemplative process.