Yannis Tsarouchis’ (1910-1989) “Youth Posing as Eros” fetched 572,000 euros at a Bonhams and Art Expertise auction in Paris on Wednesday, the highest sum ever paid for a painting by the modernist artist and set designer.

The same auction of works by 20th century Greek artists witnessed Yiannis Moralis’ ‘Eroticon’ sold for sold for 483,000 euros, while Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas’ “Hydra” sold for 172,000 euros.

Another iconic painting by Tsarouchis, La garde oubliée (The Forgotten Guard), sold in November 2022 for 441,375 euros at another Bonhams sale of Greek artists’ works.

The painting, whose long title is “Young Man Disguised as Eros with an English Chair”, was finished in the early to mid-1960s. It depicts a signature male subject that was ubiquitous in Tsarouchis’ art and considered a bold artistic statement at the time.