The painter Georgios Roilos was born in Stemnitsa, Arcadia, in 1867 and passed away in Athens in 1928.
He initially studied at the School of Arts under N. Lytras (painting) and A. Rovertos (engraving) from 1880 to 1887. He continued his studies at the Munich Academy in the studio of Nikolaos Gyzis (1888). He then attended the Académie Julian in Paris under J.P. Laurens and B. Constant (1889–1894).
Upon returning to Greece, he was appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts (1894), where he taught statue painting, replacing S. Prosalentis (1895–1903). During the War of 1897, he was mobilized and depicted the armed conflict in his works. The same occurred during the Balkan Wars. His presence at the front line offered him the opportunity for a journalistic depiction of battle scenes. Thus, Roilos emerged as a “war artist”. During the period 1904–1908, he lived in London and Liverpool. He subsequently returned to Athens and taught once again at the School of Fine Arts (1910–1927), where Giorgio de Chirico was among his students.
His subject matter includes portraits, seascapes, and landscapes, as well as genre and war scenes that follow post-impressionist concepts. His engravings and caricatures were published in magazines and newspapers.
His work was presented in both solo and group exhibitions, such as the Olympia Exhibition in Athens (1888), the Paris Exposition Universelle (1889), and others.