Τα βάσανα του παππού (The Suffering of the Grandfather)

Jakobides began his studies in Athens in the 1870s under the preeminent genre painter Nikiforos Lytras. Following his graduation from the academy he received a scholarship to further his studies at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich where he continued his exploration of the relationships of parents, grandparents and children in his art. Following the conclusion of his studies in 1883 he elected to remain in Germany until 1900 when he returned to Athens to organize the National Gallery. His images from his German period established him as one of the most important Greek painters of the 19th Century and earned him international success. He won medals in Munich in 1889, 1892 and 1895, and gold medals in Athens (1888), Berlin (1891), Munich (1893) and Paris (1900). In 1904 he assumed the role of Director to the National Gallery in Athens.
Τα βάσανα του παππού (The Suffering of the Grandfather) dates it 1883, when the Jakobides had first set out on his own, and the large signature reflects how proud the young artist must have been of this work. Jakobides was inspired by 17th century Dutch artists who favored interior genre scenes, and in particular, he was drawn to the work of Frans Hals whose light and brushwork he imitated. His time at the Academy in Munich had also put him in contact with the concepts of naturalism being promoted in France. As with these artists he too based his subjects on observations from daily life, rendering them with superb draftsmanship and color. Jakobides had begun his studies in Athens as a sculptor and his eye for the three-dimensional depiction of figures is evident in the present painting. Grandparents were a popular subject for the artist in this period, and can be found in works such as Grandmother's Dearest (sold Christie's Athens, 9 December 1996, lot 64 for $244,245) and The First Steps (1892, Collection of E. Koutlidis Foundation).