“Antiquarianism and Philhellenism. The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection”

EXHIBITION

from 16/12/2020 until 30/04/2021

“Antiquarianism and Philhellenism. The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection”

Αt Athens International Airport

After three successful exhibitions, the Museum of Cycladic Art is collaborating anew with the Athens International Airport by organizing the exhibition Antiquarianism and Philhellenism: The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection, to celebrate the bicentennial of the outbreak of the Greek Revolution of 1821. The exhibition, which is hosted in the Art & Culture space on the Arrivals Level of the Αirport, began on December 16, 2020, will run until April 30, 2021 and is the only exhibition currently presented in Athens, due to restrictive measures!

The panorama presented in the Airport exhibition space copies a Wallpaper Panorama that was printed in France in 1828. Depicted in it are celebrated ancient Greek locations (Thermopylae, Delphi, Parnassos), as well as scenes from the Greeks’ Struggle for Independence (1821-1828) from the Ottoman yoke. The Greek Revolution of 1821 aroused the support of the Western world and was transformed into a movement “On behalf of the Greeks”, known to history ass Philhellenism. Europeans’ antiquarianism is the most enduring link between Greece and the rest of the Continent. In the course of the Revolution it was transmuted into philhellenism and was imprinted visually in European works of art. After the creation of the Greek State, it was adopted by Greek Neoclassical artists intent on promoting the infrangible continuity of the ancient Greek heritage.

The original Wallpaper Panorama will be on display in the exhibition “Antiquarianism and Philhellenism. The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection” curated by Art Historian Dr Fani-Maria Tsigakou and Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis, which is installed? ready? in the Museum of Cycladic Art and will open its doors as soon as Greek museums reopen. The exhibits come from the Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection, a unique Philhellenic Gallery of European artworks of the nineteenth century and Greek Neoclassicism, which are shown to the public for the first time and are presented alongside important antiquities from major museums in Greece and Italy. Aim of the exhibition is to enhance the antiquarian aspects of the philhellenic movement, before, during and after the 1821 Revolution.

The video screened in the Airport exhibition space offers viewers a brief guided tour to selected objects in the exhibition in the Museum, by the curators, Dr Fani-Maria Tsigakou and Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis.