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National Gallery (Athens)
Encyclopedia
The National Art Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum is an art museum in Athens
devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century to the 20th century. It is directed by Marina Lambraki-Plaka.
, a jurist and art lover, bequeathed his collection and estate to the Greek Government aspiring to the creation of an art museum. The museum opened in 1900 and the first curator was the famous Greek painter Georgios Jakobides
from Munich
. After World War II the works began for a new building. After relocating the sculptures in the new National Glyptotheque
, there is a discussion to renovate the main building and to build a new wing.
. The gallery owns and exhibits also an extensive collection of European artists. Particularly valuable, is the collection of paintings from the Renaissance
.
The National Gallery has opened the last years branches in Nafplion
, Sparta
and Corfu
.
, opposite the Hilton Athens. It can be reached with the Athens Metro
at the Evangelismos station
. The National Glyptotheque
is situated at the "Alsos Stratou" (Military Park) in Goudi
, near Kanellopoulou Avenue and can be reached with the Athens Metro
at the Katehaki station
.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century to the 20th century. It is directed by Marina Lambraki-Plaka.
History
It was established in 1878 as a small collection of 117 works exhibited at the Athens University. In 1896, Alexandros SoutzosAlexandros Soutzos
Alexandros Soutzos was a Phanariote Greek who ruled as Prince of Moldavia Alexandros Soutzos was a Phanariote Greek who ruled as Prince of Moldavia Alexandros Soutzos was a Phanariote Greek who ruled as Prince of Moldavia (July 10, 1801 – October 1, 1802 and Prince of Wallachia (July 2, 1802 –...
, a jurist and art lover, bequeathed his collection and estate to the Greek Government aspiring to the creation of an art museum. The museum opened in 1900 and the first curator was the famous Greek painter Georgios Jakobides
Georgios Jakobides
'Georgios Jakobides was a Greek painter and one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the National Gallery of Greece in Athens.- Life :His first education was in Izmir, Turkey...
from Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. After World War II the works began for a new building. After relocating the sculptures in the new National Glyptotheque
National Glyptotheque
National Glyptotheque is a sculpture museum located in Athens, Greece. It is an annex of the National Gallery of Greece. The museum was established in 2004 and became the first National Glyptotheque of Greece. It houses a permanent collection of Greek sculpture from the 19th and the 20th centuries...
, there is a discussion to renovate the main building and to build a new wing.
Collections
The gallery exhibitions are mainly focused on post-Byzantine Greek ArtGreek art
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period...
. The gallery owns and exhibits also an extensive collection of European artists. Particularly valuable, is the collection of paintings from the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
Renaissance
- El GrecoEl GrecoEl Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
The Concert of the Angels, Christ on the Cross with the Two Maries and St John, Saint Peter - Jacob JordaensJacob JordaensJacob Jordaens was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
The Adoration of the Shepherds - Luca GiordanoLuca GiordanoLuca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
Esther and Ahasuerus - Giovanni Battista TiepoloGiovanni Battista TiepoloGiovanni Battista Tiepolo , also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice...
Eliezer and Rebecca, The Agony in the Garden - Jan Brueghel the YoungerJan Brueghel the YoungerJan Brueghel the Younger was a Flemish Baroque painter, and the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder.He was trained by his father and spent his career producing works in a similar style. Along with his brother Ambrosius, he produced landscapes, allegorical scenes and other works of meticulous detail. ...
The Virgin in Paradise - Jan Brueghel the ElderJan Brueghel the ElderJan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and father of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel, "Flower" Brueghel, and "Paradise" Brueghel, of which the latter two were derived from his floral still lifes which were his favored subjects, while the...
- Lorenzo VenezianoLorenzo VenezianoLorenzo Veneziano was an Italian painter. His earliest altar-piece was painted for the high altar of the church of Sant' Antonio di Castello, and is now in the Accademia at Venice...
Crucifixion - Zanino di Pietro Virgin with Child and Angels
- Jacopo del Sellaio Saint Jerome in the desert
- Joachim BeuckelaerJoachim BeuckelaerJoachim Beuckelaer was a Flemish painter.A native of Antwerp, he studied under his uncle, Pieter Aertsen. Many of his paintings contain scenes of kitchen and markets, with religious allusions in the background. His Four Elements series exemplifies this theme on a large scale...
Market Scene - David Vinckeboons Wine Harvest
- Duerer
17th-20th century
- Piet MondrianPiet MondrianPieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
Landscape with a mill - Auguste RodinAuguste RodinFrançois-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
- Pablo PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
Composition - Henri Matise
- Francis PicabiaFrancis PicabiaFrancis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
- Henri Fantin-LatourHenri Fantin-LatourHenri Fantin-Latour was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.-Biography:...
Still Life - Willem van MierisWillem van MierisWillem van Mieris was a Dutch painter. He was a son of Frans van Mieris sr. and brother of Jan van Mieris....
Lady with the Parrot - Eugène DelacroixEugène DelacroixFerdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
Mounted Greek Warrior - Jacques LinardJacques LinardJacques Linard was a French painter of the first half of the 17th century. He painted still-lives. He was baptised on the 6th of September, 1597. His first records of being of artist was in the 1620s. He was married in 1626 to the daughter of a Parisian Master Painter...
Still Life - Peter Paul Rubens The Feast of the Epiphany, Adoration of the Shepherds
- Maurice UtrilloMaurice UtrilloMaurice Utrillo, , born Maurice Valadon, was a French painter who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of Montmartre who were born there....
- Cecco del CaravaggioCecco del CaravaggioCecco del Caravaggio , is the name used for a Baroque artist working in Rome in the early decades of the 17th century, an important early follower of Caravaggio. He has been identified as Francesco Boneri , although this is not universally accepted.Little is known about Cecco del Caravaggio...
Youth with musical instruments - Rembrandt
- Claude LorrainClaude LorrainClaude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French Claude Gellée, , dit le Lorrain) Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French...
- CanalettoCanalettoGiovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
- Piranesi
- Albert MarquetAlbert MarquetAlbert Marquet was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement.-Life and work:Marquet was born in 1875 at Bordeaux. In 1890 he moved to Paris to attend the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, where he met Henri Matisse. They were roommates for a time, and they influenced each other's work...
- Ivan AivazovskyIvan AivazovskyIvan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky July 29, 1817 – May 5, 1900) was a Russian world-renowned painter of Armenian descent living and working in Crimea, most famous for his seascapes, which constitute more than half of his paintings...
Burning of the Turkish flagship - Jacob Beschey Moses Drawing Water from the Rock
- Braque
- Antoine BourdelleAntoine BourdelleAntoine Bourdelle , originally Émile Antoine Bourdelle, was an influential and prolific French sculptor, painter, and teacher.-Career:...
- Antony Francis van der MeulenAntony Francis van der MeulenAdam Frans van der Meulen was a Flemish Baroque painter specialising in battle scenes. He was active first in Brussels, where he was a pupil of Pieter Snayers, and from the 1660s onwards in Paris.-Biography:...
- Pieter AertsenPieter AertsenPieter Aertsen , called Lange Pier because of his height, was a Dutch historical painter. He was born and died in Amsterdam, and painted there and in Antwerp, though his genre scenes were influential in Italy.-Biography:...
- Raffaello Ceccoli
- Francesco Pize
Greek artists
- Georgios JakobidesGeorgios Jakobides'Georgios Jakobides was a Greek painter and one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the National Gallery of Greece in Athens.- Life :His first education was in Izmir, Turkey...
- Nikiphoros LytrasNikiphoros LytrasNikiphoros Lytras was a nineteenth century Greek painter. He was born in Tinos, and trained in Athens at the School of Arts. In 1860 he won a scholarship to Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich. After completing these studies, he became a professor at the School of Arts in 1866, a position he held...
- Nikolaus Gysis
- Konstantinos VolanakisKonstantinos VolanakisKonstantinos Volanakis or Volonakis was a Greek painter, considered one of the best of the 19th century. Born to a wealthy family, he went to Trieste, Italy, in 1856 where he took up painting. He studied in the Munich Academy. He is one of the foremost representatives of the Munich School, a Greek...
- Yannis TsarouchisYannis Tsarouchis-Early life:Born in Piraeus, he studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts . He was also a student of Photios Kontoglou, who introduced him to Byzantine iconography, while he also studied popular architecture and dressing customs...
- Yannis Moralis
- Nikos Hadjikyriakos-GhikasNikos Hadjikyriakos-GhikasNikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas was a leading Greek painter, sculptor, engraver, iconographer, writer and academic...
- Panayiotis TetsisPanayiotis TetsisPanayiotis Tetsis is a major Greek painter. Tetsis is a genuine exponent of the post-impressionistic seascape tradition.- Life and work :...
- Nikos NikolaouNikos NikolaouNikos Nikolaou was a major figure in Greek art during the 20th century.In 1929 Nikolaou is admitted into the Athens School of Fine Arts where he studied under Konstantinos Parthenis and Umbertos Argyros....
- Dimitris MytarasDimitris MytarasDimitris Mytaras is a Greek artist born in Chalkis in 1934 and is considered one of the important Greek painters of the 20th century.His work is mainly inspired by the human figure, and a combination of naturalism and expressionism...
- Konstantinos ParthenisKonstantinos ParthenisKonstantinos Parthenis born in Alexandria, Egypt was a distinguished Greek painter. Parthenis broke with the Greek academic tradition of the 19th century and introduced modern elements together with traditional themes, like the figure of Christ, in his art.-External links:*...
- Epameinondas ThomopoulosEpameinondas ThomopoulosEpameinondas Thomopoulos was a Greek artist who attended the academy and the first Greek impressionist....
- Yiannis PsychopedisYiannis PsychopedisYannis Psychopedis was born in 1945 and he is one of the main Greek exponents of artistic Critical Realism, an art movement that developed in Europe after the political and social upheavals of 1968...
- Nikos EngonopoulosNikos EngonopoulosNikos Engonopoulos was a modern Greek painter and poet. He is one of the most important members of the Greek Generation of the '30s as well as a major representative of the surrealistic movement in Greece...
- Demetrios FarmakopoulosDemetrios FarmakopoulosDemetrios Farmakopoulos, ,, also known as Mimis Farmakopoulos. An influential Greek painter whose main recurring theme is space and the future.-Introduction:...
- Lucas SamarasLucas SamarasLucas Samaras , is an artist, born in Kastoria, Greece. He studied at Rutgers University on a scholarship, where he met Allan Kaprow and George Segal. While at Rutgers, he joined Gamma Sigma . He participated in Kaprow's "Happenings," and posed for Segal's plaster sculptures...
- Demetrios GalanisDemetrios GalanisDemetrios Galanis was an early twentieth century Greek artist and contemporary and friend of Picasso. In 1920, the year he completed his `Seated Nude', he exhibited alongside such major figures of modern art as Matisse and Braque, while from 1921 on he also exhibited alongside Juan Gris, Dufy,...
- Theophilos HatzimihailTheophilos HatzimihailTheophilos Hatzimihail , known simply as Theophilos, was a major folk painter of Neo-Hellenic art...
- Theocharis MoresTheocharis MoresTheocharis Mores was a Greek painter.Born in Saint Croix, he was the eldest of five children.Mores started working in the accounts office of the factory in which his father was employed...
- Pericles PantazisPériclès PantazisPériclès Pantazis was a major Greek impressionist painter of the 19th century that gained a great reputation as an artist initially in Belgium.- Life :...
- Theodoros StamosTheodoros StamosTheodoros Stamos , was a Greek American artist. He is one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters , which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko...
- Alekos FassianosAlekos Fassianos- Biography :Fassianos studied violin at the Athens Conservatory and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1956 to 1960 where he was taught from Yannis Moralis. He then went to Paris on a French State scholarship where he attended lessons on lithography along with Clairin and Caroline...
- Kostas Tsoklis
- Nikos Kessanlis
- Theodoros VryzakisTheodoros VryzakisTheodoros Vryzakis was a major Greek painter of the 19th century.- Life :Vryzakis's father died in the Greek War of Independence...
- Stefanos Tzangarolos
- Andreas Pavias
- George BouzianisGeorge BouzianisGeorge Bouzianis was a major Greek expressionist painter.He studied painting at the School of Fine Arts of Athens with teachers such as Nikiphoros Lytras and Konstantinos Volanakis, Roilos and Geraniotis. In 1907 he moved to Munich to continue his art studies with Otto Seitz...
- Ioannis AltamourasIoannis AltamourasIoannis Altamouras was an outstanding Greek painter of the 19th century famous for his paintings of seascapes.- Biography :...
- Konstantinos MaleasKonstantinos MaleasKonstantinos Maleas was one of the most important Post-impressionist Greek painters of the 20th century. Along with Konstantinos Parthenis, he considered the most important Modern Artist in Greece....
- Polychronis Lempesis
- Spyros VassiliouSpyros VassiliouSpyros Vassiliou was a Greek painter, printmaker, illustrator, and stage designer. He became widely recognized for his work starting in the 1930s, when he received the Benaki Prize from the Athens Academy...
Facts
Approximately four million people have visited the National Gallery in the last fourteen years. Its exhibition activity is mainly supported by sponsorships that cover up to half of its budget.The National Gallery has opened the last years branches in Nafplion
Nafplion
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...
, Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
and Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
.
Visitor information
The gallery is situated on Vassilissis Sofias AvenueVassilissis Sofias Avenue
Vasilissis Sofias Avenue is a major avenue in the east side of Athens, the Greek capital. The avenue was originally part of the Kifisias Avenue. The part from Syntagma Square to the intersection with Alexandras Avenue was renamed after Queen Sophia the consort of King Constantine I...
, opposite the Hilton Athens. It can be reached with the Athens Metro
Athens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
at the Evangelismos station
Evangelismos station
Evangelismos station is located on Vassilissis Sophias Avenue. It is close to the "Evangelismos" General Hospital, the National Gallery of Athens, the Athens War Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Museum and the Athens Hilton. Close to this station is the famous area of Kolonaki, known for its...
. The National Glyptotheque
National Glyptotheque
National Glyptotheque is a sculpture museum located in Athens, Greece. It is an annex of the National Gallery of Greece. The museum was established in 2004 and became the first National Glyptotheque of Greece. It houses a permanent collection of Greek sculpture from the 19th and the 20th centuries...
is situated at the "Alsos Stratou" (Military Park) in Goudi
Goudi
Goudi is a residential neighbourhood of Athens, Greece, on the eastern part of town and on the foothills of Mount Hymettus. Its name descends from the 19th century Goudi family, who owned a large estate in the area...
, near Kanellopoulou Avenue and can be reached with the Athens Metro
Athens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
at the Katehaki station
Katehaki station
Katehaki is an Attiko Metro Blue Line station, located at "Katechaki Avenue" and "Mesogeion Avenue". It is close to the building of the former Ministry of Public Order and also to the Goudi Badminton Olympic Complex, to the National Glyptotheque of Greece as well as National Technical University...
.
See also
- National GlyptothequeNational GlyptothequeNational Glyptotheque is a sculpture museum located in Athens, Greece. It is an annex of the National Gallery of Greece. The museum was established in 2004 and became the first National Glyptotheque of Greece. It houses a permanent collection of Greek sculpture from the 19th and the 20th centuries...
- Art in modern GreeceArt in modern GreeceModern Greek art is the term used to describe Greek art during the period between the emergence of the new independent Greek state and the 20th century....
- Greek ArtGreek artGreek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period...
- List of museums in Greece
- Foros Timis Ston GrecoForos Timis Ston GrecoForos Timis Ston Greco is a classical album by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis...
- Cretan SchoolCretan SchoolThe term Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, also known as Post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becoming the central force in Greek painting during the...