Lazaros Pantos, the Painter

If one were to read the biography of Lazaros Pantos, who studied painting at the School of Fine Arts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in London, one could conclude that his relationship with retsina, a purely Greek and, for some, popular drink would be rather platonic. Except that this assumption would be wrong. Ancient Greek standards not only influenced his art, but also his daily life.

"In our student years, there was no way that retsina was not on our tables. Nice times, with memories of the taste and smell of retsina and love".

OTHERWORLDLY BEAUTY.

Entering the place of Lazaros Pantos, at number 17 of Makedonikis Amynis Street, you unconsciously let out an exclamation of admiration. Even if you don't have a special relationship with art, you can't help but be enchanted by the beauty of the objects. Most of it, his. Some of his collaborators – such as, for example, the sculptor Stelios Mertzanidis. You feel like you are in a museum wing. You see the bust of Nefertiti and think you are in the Neues Museum, Berlin. You admire the portrait of the man with the curly hair from the Roman period of Egypt and you think you are in the British Museum, London. You feel the need to explore them one by one. And you wonder: what could such a person have to do with retsina?

"I believe that retsina occupies the first place on the Greek tables" emphasizes the painter emphatically. "It is almost always paired by dishes - mainly fish and country salad. The addition of that pine-resin scent is what makes it addictive. In the past, in our student years, there was no way that retsina would not be on our tables. Nice times, with memories of the taste and smell of retsina and love".

THE "REZINÉ" OF THE "GOOD SOCIETY”.

Continuing the tour, you find that the Fayum portraits have a prominent place in his works. These are portraits in wood that were created from the 1^st to the 3rd^st century, during the period of the Roman presence in Egypt, which were mainly (but not always) intended for funerary use by wealthy citizens. They got their name from the Fayum oasis, where their first specimens were discovered. Lazaros Pantos carried out related work at the Cairo Museum, where he wrote a PhD on their history. He had to visit Egypt several times and stay there for long periods. During that period, he also met the great painter Giannis Tsarouhis, whose influence is evident in his later works.

For Lazaros Panto, retsina also awakens memories: "As my mother used to say, I remember the post-war era. Good society listened to rebetika and drank retsina – they called it 'reziné'. Today the same retsina has become very refined. And, keeping the tradition, it has acquired a unique taste: mild, tasty, and very addictive".

AROMA OF "CLASSIC" THESSALONIKI.

You find that in various parts of the space there are portraits of fighters of the Greek revolution. Lazaros Pantos created more than 80 portraits, as part of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Paligenesis – some of them were exhibited abroad, including in New Delhi. You know that all these heroes depicted were also people, who had their own daily life, eating and drinking in their joys and sorrows. And then you think about your own everyday life, your own city. Is Thessaloniki "tied" to retsina and parties? "Yes, indeed in Thessaloniki - and always in the company of friends - the classic phrase/prompt is 'Let's go for some fish and retsina'?" adds the acclaimed painter. "And it always presupposes sunshine, the beach, flirting. And let the fillings in the glasses pour... Eviva! And up close, the cod with garlic and hot pepper and retsina with soda".

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