ULTRAMARINE, 1992 – 1997

The Ultramarine series was exhibited at Kyklos Gallery, Paphos, in 1992.

The “Ultramarine” is a series of paintings – often imaginary and abstract – which examine the nature of the Cypriot landscape.  After my return to Cyprus from Spain in 1989 I decided to explore the Cyprus landscape. It was also a pretext to review my painting. I noticed that ultramarine blue is a dominant element; it’s not only the physical colour of the sea and the sky. It also exists in the Cypriot culture. Until recently Cypriots used lapis lazuli – the raw material for ultramarine – to paint their houses. Ultramarine blue exists in the Byzantine paintings of Cyprus and it was the finest and most expensive blue; coming from “beyond the sea”, was more expensive than gold. Artists used the pigment sparingly, reserving their highest quality blues for the robes of Mary and the Christ child.

Rinos Stefani, 1995