Greece's famous painter Dimitris Mytaras dies aged 83

Greek renowned painter Dimitris Mytaras, one of the most important artists in contemporary Greece passed away on Thursday aged 83, Greek media has reported.

No cause of death was announced, however the talented artist had suffered from several health problems in recent years and since 2011 had gradually lost 90 percent of his vision.

Mytaras is considered one of the most important Greek painters of the 20th century, with his work mainly inspired by the human figure, and a combination of naturalism and expressionism. From the 1960s onward, Mytaras moved in the direction of naturalism, while from 1975 an expressionistic approach became more evident in his creations.

From 1964 till 1972, he directed the Interior Decoration Workshop of the Athens Technological Institute. Since 1975 he had been teaching at the Painting Workshop of the Athens School of Fine Arts. Mytaras had also participated in more than 30 international group shows, including the 1972 Venice Biennale.

"Greece's contemporary history of Art would be so poor if Mytaras was not part of it," Marina Lambraki Plaka, Director of the Greek National Gallery had said.

Mytaras had exhibited his works in many cities across the world and created one of the official posters for the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

Born in 1934 in the city of Chalkida, 80 km north of Athens, Mytaras studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts and then stage design and internal decoration in Paris in the 1960s.