Tremetousia

One of the first modern artists of Cyprus, Pol Georghiou travelled around the island and portrayed its people and landscape in colours rendering the light of Cyprus. The poster portrays a typical two-storey house in the village of Tremetousia, in the Larnaca district. A monastery devoted to St. Spyridon, a native saint, is located in the village. According to Mas Latrie, the village was a fief belonging to the medieval family of Babin and much cotton and silk was produced there. The building is made of mud brick, its entrance facing the road. The front part is white washed in an attempt to keep up appearances while the side wall remains uncovered. The woodwork, windows and door, are painted with the characteristic indigo used by Cypriots and diluted with water as a substitute for expensive oil paint. The balcony over the entrance usually indicated the location of the master bedroom. It is only when one sees Georghiou’s painting ‘Going to church, Tremetousha’ circa 1949 that one realizes that what appears to be a house is in fact a church. The artist was most probably inspired by the white and indigo colours which he combined with the light blue of the sky alluding to the Greek flag and the nationalist feelings of the time.