Holy Friday, Greece

Holy Friday, Greece is a painting created by Turkish-born Greek-French painter Théodore Ralli. Ralli was part of the well-known Ralli family and was also married twice. His wife's family names were Mavrokordatos and Mavromichalis. Rallis created a sizeable amount of paintings representing traditional Greek everyday life. In the early 1890s, Rallis maintained an address at 6 Rue Aumont-Thiéville in Paris, France, and spent his winters in Cairo, Egypt, from 1890 to 1904. There was a sizable Greek community in Cairo, and Rallis also befriended the ruling royal family. He was awarded the Order of the Medjidie by the Khedivate of Egypt. Rallis obtained special permission from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs to wear his award while visiting Athens, Greece. In Cairo, Rallis was the president of an organizing committee to establish a French-style salon exhibition in the country in 1891. The Khedive Tewfik Pasha reigned from 1879 to January 1892, and his eldest son, Abbas II of Egypt, reigned from January 1892 to December 1914; both leaders were directly involved with the Cairo salon. The opening of the first Cairo salon was presided over by the Khedive on February 20, 1891, in the presence of the diplomatic corps. At this exhibition, Rallis presented one of his works featuring Greek everyday life entitled The Palms in Megara. By 1893, the Cairo Salon had become an annual event, and Holy Friday, Greece was exhibited.

Praying in a Greek Church, Mount Parnassus is one of Ralli's earliest known works featuring Greek everyday life. The work was completed in 1876. Works such as The Weavers, Arachova, 1877, Young Mother from Megara, 1878, and Rose Jams in Megara, 1892 all depict Greek everyday life. A large number of his Greek works are affiliated with the sacred mountain known as Mount Parnassus, which is deeply rooted in the history and culture of Greece. The mountain was home to the muses of poetry, music, and learning, and was also associated with the Greek God Apollo, who was the god of music, poetry, and fine arts. In 1885, Rallis traveled to another holy mountain known as Mount Athos, where he drew inspiration for his work. The artist stayed fifteen days. Mount Athos features a massive complex of Greek monasteries and is over one thousand years old. The location is very important to the Greek people as the sacred pillar of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Rallis completed a significant number of paintings featuring Greek everyday life within Greek Orthodox churches. His first work in a Greek church was Praying in a Greek Church, Mount Parnassus in 1876. Most of his works of Greek everyday life within Greek churches feature: traditional clothing of Greece, icons, frescos, icon corners, candelabra, sanctuary lamps, burning candles, analogion, kliros, and iconostasis. In 1885, the painter completed Refectory in a Greek Monastery a work directly inspired by his visit to Mount Athos. Nikolaos Gyzis (1842 - 1901) was another Greek painter who was committed to creating works featuring Greek everyday life. He traveled to Greece in the 1870s and painted Greek themes. One such work is the Step Mother completed around 1883. Gyzis employs similar themes to Rallis, featuring icons and similar interiors. Other Greek contemporaries, such as Georgios Jakobides (1853–1932), completed Le bouquet, and Polychronis Lembesis (1848–1913) completed Young Girl with Local Costume, and Nikiforos Lytras (1832–1904) completed The Waiting featuring Greek everyday life. Loukas Geralis, Apostolos Geralis, and Vasos Germenis were Greek artists of the 20th century influenced by Greek everyday life and reflected it in their works. Interestingly, Loukas Geralis, Apostolos Geralis, and Georgios Jakobides were from the Greek island of Lesvos. Holy Friday, Greece can be found in a private collection.