The painter Nikos Fotakis was born in Pigi, Rethymno, in 1904 and passed away in Heraklion in 1959.
Although of Cretan descent, he spent most of his life in Thessaloniki, where he settled in 1917, before returning to Crete toward the end of his life.
He studied at the School of Fine Arts under Spyridon Vikatos and, upon graduation, attended painting classes in Vienna.
He worked as a set and costume designer, collaborating with the troupes of Marika Kotopouli and Dimitris Myrat, as well as the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG/KTHBE), among others.
His work combines Post-Impressionist influences with naïve elements, while his style references Polykleitos Regos and Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis. These similarities are not only stylistic but also thematic. He influenced younger artists, such as Panos Papanakos.
Immediately after his death, his unpublished texts containing impressions and thoughts from Mount Athos were published in a book titled ‘Days and Nights on the Mountain’ (Meronychta sto Oros).
He held several solo exhibitions in Thessaloniki, Athens, Chania, Heraklion, Rethymno, Serres, Kavala, Trikala, Chicago (1953), New York (1953), and Istanbul (1957).
His works are held in public and private collections in Greece and abroad.