Michael C. Kashalos was the first Cypriot naïve artist to have made a name for himself. He was born in the village of Assia and he lived there his entire life. He died in Larnaca in 1974, after enduring a serious injury from the Turkish army that had invaded his village. He only went to primary school, where he had some art lessons. He worked a variety of jobs, including shoemaking and pottery only becoming involved in art at around 1960, at quite an advanced age.

He drew his themes from the manners, customs, traditions, occupations and habits of his fellow villages. His work depicts the world as he lived it or as he remembered it, and thus contains rich folkloric material.