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It is built at the area of Vatera, a suburb of Mytilene. It is inside an olive grove and housed in an austere building designed by the eminent Lesvian architect G.Gianoulellis.

It was built in 1964 with a donation made to the municipality of Mytilene by Stratis Eleftheriadis -Teriade, the man who made Theophilos and his painting famous. It includes 86 works painted by the Lesvian folk artist Theophilos Chatzimichael, also donated by Teriade to the Municipality of Mytilene.

Theophilos - a self-taught painter - is the most significant representative of Greek folk painting in the 20th century. He was born in 1868 and died in 1934. He spent his childhood in Vareia, a beautiful place that he virtually adored, a feeling that is evident in his painting.

Being restless by nature and a dreamer he traveled - from Smyrna to Pelion and Larissa painting along the way. These were the first two periods of his painting. He returned to the island after its liberation in 1912 to complete a third period, his last one.

It is there that Teriade met him and decided to promote his work, which he did organizing exhibitions both in Greece and abroad and succeeding in making Theophilos internationally recognized.

Theophilos has left us a plethora of paintings - among them wall paintings decorating houses and shops in Lesvos and Pelion. His themes - historical and romantic - express two elements central in his own nature: a touching patriotism and a tender romantic tendency.

The history of the Greeks - from the ancient times to 1821, the year of the Greek Revolution against the Ottomans, - provide him with his favorite heroes:

Alexander the Great, Constantine Paleologos, Kolokotronis, Markos Bocharis etc. His models are figures used in the sentimental fiction and postcards of his time: Aretoussa and Erotokritos, Romeo and Juliet, and others.

A third source of inspiration is nature and idyllic scenes presented in a typically Greek setting are characteristic of his work.

His art has all the characteristics of genuine folk creation: vivid colors (often prepared by himself with natural materials), authenticity, spontaneity and sincerity of feeling combined with a disregard for either historical truth or detail.

The works displayed in the museum belong to the mature period of his painting and are known for the harmony of colour, the realistic intent in the portrayal of persons, their vividness and spontaneity. The Museum gives quite representative a picture of the artist's work. Soon the house in which Theophilos spent the last years of his life will be open to the public.

It is very near the Theophilos Museum, at the suburb of Mytilene, Vareia. Stratis Eleftheriadis -Teriade (1897-1983) was born in Mytilene, but while still quite young he left for Paris to study Law. Soon his interest in painting makes him look deeper into art and he becomes an art critic. He works with editors in the publication of arts books and magazines.

In 1937 he establishes his own publishing house VERVE (“inspiration”) as well as a magazine by the same name in which many famous writers, painters and poets participate. At the same time, Teriade had the idea to encourage and guide many artists friends of his towards the publication of the “Grand Books”. While the issues of VERVE magazine are reproductions of existing pictures, the “Grand Books” are original works of art issued in a limited number of copies (180-250), signed by the artist.

Teriade got the idea of the illustrated book from the medieval manuscripts, an area in which he was an expert. After the Museum of Theophilos he also donated to the Municipality of Mytilene in 1964 this museum, a fine, simple building also designed by the eminent Lesvian architect G.Gianoulellis.

In the showcases of the museum the visitor can admire the bound volumes of the “Grand Books”, while most of their pages hang open on the walls. The pages on the walls are the proofs used before the final printing of each Book.

Through these pages that also include poetry, the visitor can “watch” the creative effort as it unfolds and so take part in the dialogue between painting and poetry. That was the aim of Teriade and from this point of view the Museum itself could be called an “Open Book”.

In the Museum 37 works made by Theophilos (used in the exhibitions Teriade organized for the folk painter), six by Tsarouchis and three by Kaliyannis - both distinguished Greek painters - are also exhibited.