Antoine Malliarakis Dit Mayo (1905 - 1990) - Frondaison, 1952.

Oil on cardboard Signed and lower right Annotated on the back, "Mayo Paris 1952"
Dimensions: 61 x 46 cm, with frame: 71 x 57 cm.

Provenance: Philippe Noiret collection

The painter depicts a virgin forest in which the spectator is destined to get lost. The frontality of the curtain of greenery is only apparent: when you look at it in more detail, the curtain crumbles and stands out in a multitude of leaves, like so many hands ready to catch the viewer. The tones are ocher, green, white. The almost abstract painting shows that it represents an object of reality thanks to the painter, who figures two transparent trunks.

Antoine Malliarakis dit Mayo was born in Port-Saïd, Egypt, to a French mother and a Greek father. He studied in Alexandria then left his native country for France. In the capital in 1924, he met Man Ray, Tristan Tzara, Robert Desnos ... and discovered the Paris of Montparnasse.
He meets André Breton, but avoids joining the surrealist movement to preserve his freedom as a painter. He had his first successes in 1929, when he exhibited at the Galerie des Quatre Chemins with De Chirico. In addition to his painter activity, he made a career in decorating trendy cafes and stage decorations (for Marcel Duhamel, Les Hauts de Hurlevent, he collaborates with Christian Bérard and Boris Kochno for costumes and decorations Roland Petit , creates the costumes for the Enfants du Paradis…).
He travels to Greece, to Spain, settles in Rome and returns to France in 1985.

Bibliography:. Bénézit, "Mayo, Antoine pseudonym of Malliarakis" Oxford Library online, 31 Oct 2011

Museums:. In Paris: Center George Pompidou-museum of modern art; CNAP (national center of plastic arts). In France: Greuze Museum in Tournus,