The painter Yannis Papanelopoulos was born in Athens in 1936.
He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, primarily under Yiannis Moralis and Panagiotis Tetsis (1954–1957), and at the Vakalo School (1959–1961) under Panagiotis Tetsis.
The central focus of his interest is the human figure, rendered in an almost illusionistic manner with an expressionistic or even surrealistic mood. This quality emerges from uncannily (anoikeia) charged details and the relationship between the human form and machines. He also engaged with themes from the region of Macedonia, particularly Vergina and its archaeological discoveries.
He has presented his work in solo exhibitions in several cities across Greece and Cyprus (Athens, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Piraeus, Nicosia) and in group exhibitions in Athens and Paris.
He is a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece.