Archangel Eliel with Harquebus

Painted in 1894, this work depicting an archangel armed with a harquebus — an early firearm — represents the more symbolist and visionary strand of Gyzis's late career. By the 1890s Gyzis was moving away from the warmly observed genre scenes that had established his reputation and toward allegorical and spiritual subjects that engaged with fin-de-siècle European interest in mythology, mysticism, and the supernatural. The archangel armed not with a traditional sword or trumpet but with a historical firearm creates an arresting anachronism — the combination of celestial being and earthly weapon compressed into a single figure. This kind of visual paradox was characteristic of the symbolist movement's interest in unsettling conventional iconographic categories. The Benaki Museum preserves this work as part of its coverage of late nineteenth-century Greek painting. The choice of a harquebus — specifically an early modern rather than contemporary weapon — adds a layer of historical displacement, situating the scene in an indeterminate period between sacred history and modernity.

The handling is looser and more expressive than Gyzis's earlier Munich-trained academic work, reflecting the broader influence of symbolist technique on his later practice. The archangel's robes are painted with flowing, sweeping strokes while the metal of the firearm receives more precise, reflective treatment. A cool, diffuse light reinforces the otherworldly character of the subject.