Gallery – Library Achilleas Varvaressos

The Gallery of the Great Vatikiotis

Presenting his most important creations.

Achilleas Varvaressos was born in Athens in 1897. His parents were originally from Lachi Vion (Vatika area) in Laconia. He is the younger brother of Kyriakos Varvaressos, an academic, professor at the University of Athens, Minister of Finance and Governor at the Bank of Greece.

Varvaressos studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) from which he graduated in 1923. After his recruitment during the Asia Minor Campaign, he initially worked as an art teacher. By 1939 he was employed by the Bank of Greece as one of the first four artists to work for the Banknote and Securities Printing Foundation (IETA). He was sent to Germany, Austria and other European countries to specialise in Guilloché patterns for banknotes. At the same time, he had the opportunity to delve into Europe’s rich artistic tradition as well as the new artistic movements. From 1945 to 1957 he worked at the former Department of IETA specialising in the Preparation of Copperplate Engraving. During this time he invented
Gillospher, a copperplate engraving technique, for which he was presented an award in 1956 by the Bank of Greece.

In regards to his own painting, Varvaressos remained faithful to impressionism. In 1926 he held his first exhibition of Greek landscapes, mainly seascapes, in Athens. Along with portraiture, he devoted himself to landscape painting, with subjects inspired often by the landscapes of Vatika.
He participated in group exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale held in 1936, as well as various Panhellenic Exhibitions held between 1938 and 1967. He was a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece (EETE).

His works can be found in the Galleries of the Municipalities of Athens and Piraeus, as well as the University of Athens.

The artist’s works were bequeathed to the community of Neapolis, Vion by the Gallery – Library “Achilleas Varvaressos” owned by the Municipality of Monemvasia, which since 2023 has realized the artist’s vision, namely to create a Gallery and exhibit a significant part of his paintings in his hometown.