1876-1888
After returning to Athens, he visited his village and attempted to ask for the hand of his beloved Marigo Christodoulou. Her family refused, an event that marked the beginning of his downfall.
In January 1878, he was visited in his Athens workshop by the mother of Sophia Afentaki, who had died at just 18 years of age. This woman asked Yannoulis Chalepas to create a funerary monument with the statue of her daughter. This masterpiece of modern Greek sculpture was recorded as his most significant work. It remains unsurpassed, located in the First Cemetery of Athens.
The first symptoms of his mental breakdown had begun to appear. He destroyed every work he created. His condition did not improve, so, after ten years, he returned to Tinos. His days on the Cycladic island were monopolized by short walks in the village, in the high mountains, in hidden bays, and endless gazing at the sea.
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