The engraver and painter Demetrios Giannoukakis was born in Hermoupolis, Syros, in 1900 and passed away in Athens in 1991.
After a brief apprenticeship under the painter Nikolaos Lytras, he abandoned his law studies to attend the Dresden State Academy of Fine Arts (1921–1927), where he studied painting under F. Dorsch and printmaking under R. Muller. In 1929, he pursued independent studies in Paris.
He traveled to many European countries, studying works in their museums, before returning to Greece in 1930. From 1930 to 1933, he served as the artistic director at the Aspioti-ELKA printing house in Corfu.
He distinguished himself primarily in printmaking; from 1930 to 1955, he focused exclusively on etching, contributing significantly to the medium’s evolution. In 1957, he was among the first to introduce color printmaking to Greece, incorporating Cubist elements. He also produced woodcuts for book illustrations and postage stamps. His work creatively assimilates realistic, expressionist, and cubist influences.
He was a founding member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece (EETE), the Hellenic Society for Aesthetics, and a member of the Federation of Graphic Arts Societies in Paris.
He presented his work in group exhibitions, mainly abroad (Paris International Exposition 1937—award, Paris International Exhibition of Contemporary Printmaking 1949, Lugano International Exhibition 1954, Salon International d’Art Libre in Paris 1962—award, Krakow International Exhibition 1974). He also participated in the Venice Biennales of 1934 and 1940, the Tokyo Print Biennale (1962), the Alexandria Biennale (1963—award), and the Buenos Aires Print Biennale (1972).