Photis Kontoglou (Greek: Φώτης Κόντογλου, occasionally signed also as Kontoglous-b. Aivali or Ayvalik c.1895-d. Athens 1965) was a Greek writer, painter and iconographer.
He was raised by his mother, Despoina Kontoglou, and his uncle Stefanos Kontoglou, who was abbot in the nearby monastery of Aghia Paraskevi. He spent his childhood among the monastery, the sea and the fishermen. In 1913, he enrolled at the Athens School of Fine Arts. From 1915 onwards, he spent a lot of time travelling to places such as Spain, France,Portugal, Angola. He afterwards moved to Paris.
However, he soon returned to Asia Minor to visit his family. There he eye-witnessed the events of 1922 and he returned to Greece as a refugee. In 1923, he stayed for some time at the monasteries of Mount Athos, where he discovered the technique of Byzantine iconography.Two years later, he got married with Maria Hatzikambouri, who was also from Aivali.
In 1933, he was invited from the Egyptian government to work for the Copt Museum. However, he decided to stay in Athens and he delivered classes of painting at the National and Capodistrian University of Athens. Among his students were some of the most important modern Greek painters.
Source: Wikipedia
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