The publication was made on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition organized by the Cultural Foundation of National Bank at the exhibition space of the Eynard Mansion (October 17, 2019, to January 31, 2020). The book presents 85 works from a total of approximately 480 drawings and studies by the great artist Spyros Papaloukas (1892-1957) that were recorded for the preparation of the exhibition.

Most works are published and presented for the first time. A detailed catalog of the recordings is included at the end of the book. All works belong to private collections.

As noted in the preface by art historian Mary Michaidou: "These are unique artistic documents, precious snapshots of an unexplored artistic treasure, which demonstrate how the distinguished creator meticulously and persistently prepared, often facing countless difficulties, his future painting surfaces — from his early steps as a soldier in Messolonghi, with the extremely rare drawing depicting a Greek soldier, to the unmatched non finito Hydra of his later period and the tragically realistic rendering with the technique of stigmatography of a stunning self-portrait."

By happy coincidence, the unpublished material of the exhibition reveals a large part of Papaloukas's thematic work, and from each group of drawings, whether autonomous or as preparation material for painting impressions, images that had been definitively lost were salvaged, such as those from his grand exhibition in Smyrna at the moment of tragedy.

For a better approach to this rich material, the curator of the exhibition Markos Kampanis classified the works into 9 thematic units: 1. Asia Minor, 2. Mount Athos, 3. Ecclesiastical, 4. Portraits – Nudes, 5. Landscapes, 6. Still Lifes, 7. Applications (Decorations, Illustrations), 8. Painting Studies, 9. Various. In his extensive text, he analyzes and comments on the works and suggests new identifications.