Eleni Boukouri Altamura. The first greek woman painter

Eleni is the first Greek avant-garde woman artist of the 19th century. An alluring and enigmatic woman who somehow managed to turn her era’s every convention on its head.

Dressed as a man, Eleni studied Painting at the Nazarene school in Rome (1847-50) and in Florence (1850-51). Her example a demand for schools of art and universities around the world to open their doors to women and grant them access to knowledge. Eleni fell in love with an Italian artist, Saverio Altamura, and dared to live her life rebelliously and poetically, at great personal cost.

Seeking Eleni, I am struck by a thought: that Mankind needs succour to grow, and we’re destined to fight, profoundly and unceasingly, for the personal freedom that lies within.