The mental illness of Yannoulis Chalepas

Abstract

When looking into and analyzing the life of Yannoulis Chalepas, one comes to the realization that he was one of the most significant figures of modern Greek art. Even though life was filled with tragic events and he suffered from mental illness, this did not have a negative impact on his artwork. It was his unique talent that provided him with worldwide recognition as one of the most exemplary artists of modern Greek art. Yannoulis Chalepas must have had a particularly strong personality, and an apt example of this is that despite the negative stance of and pressure from his family, he still chose to follow his great love, the profession of his forefathers, sculpting. In fact, his artwork and his persistent efforts with this art, will be a form of psychotherapy, a systematic form of self-healing, which is unique in the history of psychiatry and will lead to the creation of his numerous masterpieces, which in turn, will make an everlasting, eternal imprint on Greek artistic history.