Greek coast

The Greek coastline captivated the Australian painter Sidney Nolan. His wife, Cynthia, recalled that during their year-long stay in Greece, he ‘walked all day and long after the sun went down’, the length of the Aegean coast.

Nolan immersed himself in Greek literature as much as the outside world. For him, the landscape was imbued with history and myth, and therein lay its attraction. Here, the ocean’s deep colour, contrasting with the sun-drenched coast, conjures up Homer’s description of the ‘wine-dark sea’.