Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-03-09
CONSTANTINE THE
GREEK KING, Is
PATTON OF R
FOND OF REFERRING TO HIMSELF AS
ONLY A SOLDIER, BUT AT SAME
TIME COLLECTOR or PICTURES
HIS AMBITION IS TO SEE NEW GREECE
TAKE PART IN ARTISTIC ACTIVE
TIES or the WORLD.

Wy Assuctnteu ireSE.D
ATHENS, Greece, Mar. King Con-
~stantine 4 fond Of referring 10 himself a-
''only q soldier, but in Greece he Il also
famous "a at patron of the arts. He VI
not a collector of old pictures or, like his
brother, Prince Nicholas. a conservator OF
antiquities, but he is a very practical Mae
eenas where Young Greek artists are con
cerned, and for patriotic rather than arts
tic reasons. He wants 10 see the new
Greece take O part in the artistic activity
OF the world in keeping with her national
aspirations in other lines.
King Constantine's love of Corfu is per-
haps the basis of his preference for the
Young Greek painter, Lycurgus Kogevinas,
2 Corfiote by birth, who has put Corfu on
canvas as no one else. The vague mystery
of the island lives in his landscapes, with
their soft greys and green's, lofty cy-
presses like waving plumes and distant
Venetian castles browning the hills.
King Constantine likes to show of his
pictures himself, as If he were in part re-
sponsible for them, as he IL, as a matter
of fact.
Count Mercati, Grand Marshal Of the
court, sent a note To the Associated Press
corresondent bidding him, on behalf of the
king, " TO come to the palace mt tea time
II he wanted to see some good pictures"
The king was seated in his study, in uni
form. his legs stretched out in front Of
him, wide apart, the spurs digging into
the carpet. Before him resting on the floor
and leaning against n sofa, in full light
from the great windows, a canvas of Ko-
gevinas-Corfu-the very soul Of Corfu;
soft greens, the gray Of age-old walls; a
sky misty by twilight; proud, tufted ced-
ars like pennats planted on the hills; the
white ribbon of a winding road. King
Constantine motioned the correspondent
to come behind him, whence the best light
fell upon the picture.
Great. whate' exclaimed the soyer-
eign, -~beaming with delight in the frank,
spontaneous wa 20 characteristic Of him.
Corfu, right enough" he added. And
then somewhat grimly: al wonder when
I'll see the place again. IIe dismissed this
phase of the subject at once, however,
waving his hand at two other canyasses
by the same artist, hanging just opposite
the monarch's desk, whore he can look up
from his work and translate himself 10 the
beloved island at q glance.
Part of the expression of O %country's
soul is It's art, isn't IT'D Well you see, ours
Is coming TO life again after all the cen
%turies under the Turks The king strobe
across the room and dug out from behind d
table q long package, which he unwrappcd
himself and held balanced on a chair back
for the correspondent to see: three
sketches of the Acropolis-one by midday.
another at sunset and the third hv moon
light, also the work Of Kogevinas. at \
beginning" said the monarch, proudly.
"a generation Of peace and development WI
Greece and you Americans will nave wv
look to your artistic l~aurels."
King Constantine's portrait has been
painted by the artists of many lands, ia
GLIDING the famous canvas by Laslo. Blu.
his latest portrait il by another Young
Greek artist, Costa Philitis, who at the he
ginning Of the war was a volunteer in the
French Foreign legion. He was wounded,
decorated with the war cross, and return
lcu I OTtttt 10 lIHiSu Ills cOnNaleScence,
where he arrived penniless. King Constan-
tine commissioned the youth to paint n
portrait to help him out, and the young
man promptly made good.
kogevinas studies in Paris; Philips in
Belgium. The best known portraitist in
Greece, Anastasias Loukidis, is a pupil Of
Oak of Amsterdam. The principal decor
alive artist, Panyotis Aravantinos, stud
led in Berlin. Philitis was born Of Greek
parents in Odessa. Loukidis in Smyrna;
kogcvinas in Corfu.
at the last exhibition or the works of
Greek artists in Athens, twenty-seven
painters. eight seulptors and one architect
exposed their Work. Lycurgus Kogevinas
Lon rr,aI off tho boporc