The painter and sculptor Thomas Thomopoulos was born in Smyrna in 1873 and passed away in Athens in 1937.
He studied painting at the School of Arts under Nikiforos Lytras and sculpture under G. Vroutos. He attended studies in Munich on a scholarship (1898–1900). After making several short trips to Florence, Rome, and Naples, he returned to Greece in 1900. In 1912, he was appointed professor of sculpture at the School of Arts, a position he held until his death. In 1930, he was elected a regular member of the Academy of Athens.
He belongs to the generation that sought a new direction for Greece following the disappointment of 1897. Through his sculptures, he attempted to project ideas, symbols, and theories for the creation of a national art. His early works were symbolic compositions influenced by Art Nouveau and neo-idealism, as he searched for more modern formative idioms, before later transitioning toward realism. A notable innovation of his was a series of colored sculptures crafted using the encaustic technique, in which the sculptural rendering of form drew its standards from the work of Auguste Rodin.
Alongside his teaching, Thomopoulos engaged with the history of sculpture—particularly focusing on the work of Yannoulis Chalepas—and actively strove to strengthen the standing of sculpture within the artistic and social spheres.
He presented his work in solo and group exhibitions, and participated in the Venice Biennale in 1937.