The painter Yiannis Santantonio was born in 1943 in Athens, where he also passed away in 2017.
In 1968, after three years of study at the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he attended painting classes under G. Mavroidis, he abandoned his studies due to the oppressive atmosphere of the dictatorship and moved to Paris, where he experienced the events of May ’68 firsthand. He studied scenography at the Université Internationale du Théâtre in Paris (1968–1969), and in 1970, he enrolled at the Sorbonne in the Department of Egyptian Studies and Papyrology. He taught as a professor of visual arts at Paris 8 University (1975–1978). He returned to Greece in 1983 and settled in Aegina (1992–2017).
His works move within the realm of photographic realism, revealing his critical stance toward contemporary social phenomena. The precision of the drawing, the clear colors, and the narrative quality enhance the illusionistic dimension of his work. This dimension also characterizes the mural ensembles he created in public spaces in Paris (a kindergarten courtyard, French Post Office offices, etc.), Attica, and Aegina.
He held solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Liège 1971, Montparnasse 1971, Rouen 1971, Paris 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, Athens 1975, 1978, 1983, 1986, Aegina 2007). He also participated in group exhibitions in France, Brussels, Athens, and Aegina.
In 1963, he was awarded by the Hellenic American Union in a youth painting competition. In 1982, he won an award at an International Exhibition in New York representing France, while simultaneously winning 1st Prize in an International Competition for a Giant Mural inside the RENAULT factory in St. Etienne, France.