“The dozens of drawings and paintings depicting butchers, rams, and animal slaughter created by Kosmas Xenakis between 1943 and 1965 represent a completely unique collection in the history of modern Greek art, given that this subject matter has rarely inspired Greek artists in the past.

Therefore, in this study, in order to interpret this production, I attempt: a) to reconstruct the iconography of the subject from antiquity to the mid-20th century, b) to historicize the theme of the works by outlining the role, social status, and meanings that the profession of butcher had in public opinion and generally in publicity during those years, as well as the metonymic uses of the words “butcher” and “slaughter” in public discourse, c) to interpret Xenakis's specific interest in these subjects as a means of internalization and psychological response to the raw and uncontrollable military and political violence of the occupation and civil war years, and finally, d) to undertake a stylistic analysis of his works as they evolved from the initial realistic-ethnographic rendering of the subjects to their abstract and ultimately non-representational realization.”