Gia ti chiliakrivi ti lefteria, 1821-1945 / Tassos, A. (Greek printmaker and illustrator, 1914-1985), Woodcut, 350 x 250 mm

Title
Gia ti chiliakrivi ti lefteria, 1821-1945
Publication Year
1945
Place of issue
Distinctive and invaluable was Tassos’s contribution to the illegal Resistance press. As he himself stated, “we worked alongside the underground printing presses, carving on wood and linoleum the plates for the posters and slogans of the resistance organizations.” The most important publication of the organized struggle of the Greek people for their freedom was the EAM–ELAS album, which was released on March 25, 1943. The preparation of the edition took place in the studio of M. Makris, near the church of Agios Spyridon, in Pangrati. The album featured woodcuts by Vasso Katraki, Loukia Maggiourou, Tassos Alevizos, and Giorgos Velissaridis. The next album was published in 1945 by the group of artists and writers of the National Resistance, under the title “For Our Incomparably Precious Freedom.” It was adorned with woodcuts by G. Velissaridis, A. Tassos, and L. Maggiourou. This was followed, on May Day of 1945—anniversary of the execution in 1944 of two hundred patriots by the occupying forces—by the album “Altar of Freedom,” with woodcuts by Al. Korogiannakis, G. Velissaridis, V. Katraki, A. Tassos, L. Maggiourou, and G. Manousakis. In 1944, the EAM of visual artists decided to participate in the nationwide exhibition, which was being held under the watchful eye of the occupying forces. The result: the Germans shut down the exhibition after a few days and imprisoned Tassos, along with Kefallinos, Korogiannakis, and Kana, in Averoff Prison for forty days.
Για τη χιλιάκριβη τη λευτεριά, 1821-1945 image
Object type
Print