The painter Georgios Paralis was born in Polygyros, Chalkidiki, in 1908 and passed away in Thessaloniki in 1975.
He attended the Theological School of the Monastery of Agia Anastasia, where the painter A. Polykandriotis encouraged him to study at the School of Fine Arts. He did so from 1928 to 1933, studying under professor Umberto Argyros. He visited Mount Athos in 1932 to study Byzantine art and completed his artistic training through travels to various European countries.
In 1937, he settled permanently in Thessaloniki and was appointed professor at the American College “Anatolia”, where he taught drawing until 1970, organizing painting and drawing exhibitions for his students.
He collaborated with D. Kentakas on the iconography of a church in Serres (1954–1958).
In his works, he depicted mansions and churches of Macedonia—mainly of Chalkidiki—as well as Aegean islands, facades of folk shops and display windows, and deserted seascapes centered on driftwood, stones, or bones. The compositional elements in his paintings are captured with almost photographic fidelity, showing influences from Byzantine painting, while the human form is entirely absent. The works featuring shop facades, which he painted after 1960, are of particular interest.
He presented his work in solo exhibitions (Valagianni School, Thessaloniki 1948; Kochlias, Thessaloniki 1973; Kastoria, etc.), as well as in group exhibitions (Panhellenic Exhibitions, Athens 1948–honorable mention, 1952, 1957, 1963, 1967, 1973, 1975; Alexandria Biennale 1957, 1971; Bucharest; Salon de l’Art Libre 1968, 1969, etc.). A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the National Gallery-Alexandros Soutzos Museum in 1980.