The painter Konstantinos Volanakis was born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1837 and passed away in Piraeus in 1907.
He began his painting studies at the Munich Academy under Professor K. von Piloty in 1864. The award he received for his sketches (1867) of the Battle of Lissa, commissioned by the Austrian government, afforded him the opportunity for a months-long journey across the Adriatic. After graduating from the Munich Academy, he worked in Munich, Vienna, and Trieste.
In 1883, he settled permanently in Piraeus and was elected Professor at the School of Arts, where he taught until 1903—initially the course of Elementary Drawing and later Statue Drawing. Additionally, he taught at the Artistic Center, which he founded himself in 1895 in Piraeus.
One of the most significant seascape painters, he depicted the morphology of sailing ships with miniature-like precision, as well as naval battles, port scenes, the sea, and clouds in perpetual motion. Through color gradations, he achieved a lyrical, nostalgic, and atmospheric style. His work is associated with Romanticism, Realism, and a Dutch-style perspective with deep horizons, while many of his pieces echo the pre-impressionist explorations of French artistic groups such as the Barbizon and Honfleur schools, as well as the work of Camille Corot.
He participated in exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Exhibition within the framework of the 1896 Olympic Games, Athens International Exhibition 1903—silver prize, 1902, 1904, Bordeaux European Exhibition 1907—prize, Vienna, Munich, London, etc.).
In 1889, he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of the Redeemer.