Nightmare II

The famous engraver Kostas Grammatopoulos was born in Athens in 1916. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1934 – 1940) under Umv. Argyros and engraving under Jean Kefalinos. In 1954, he was a granted a scholarship by the State Scholarships Foundation (I.K.Y.) and continued his studies in Paris in painting, engraving, and graphic arts at the École des Beaux Arts, the École Estienne, and the École d’Arts et Métiers.

Before his graduation, he was presented with the Chrysovergis Award by the Athens School of Fine Arts, and was selected to produce posters of the 1940 Greek-Italian war. He then created the famous “Alphabet Book” of 1949 (for which he was awarded at the International Pedagogical Symposium and the Laeken International Exhibition in Belgium), and the “Alphabet Book” of 1955. He illustrated children’s books, including the popular “Classics Illustrated” (“Perseus and Andromeda”, “Theseus and the Minotaur”, etc.). He also designed the coat of arms of the Hellenic Republic in 1974. He was a professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1959 – 1985), director (1973 – 1975) and rector (1978 – 1980) of the School. He is considered as the key figure of the renewal of engraving and an exceptional teacher.

His work was presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions, engraving tributes, and international events. He received the First Prize for his participation in the Venice Biennale in 1967 and the Gold Medal at the Florence Biennale in 1974. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum in 1995. Kostas Grammatopoulos died in 2003 in Athens. He was a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece.