Until 20 June
On the occasion of the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the Museum of Cycladic Art presents the exhibition Antiquarianism and Philhellenism: The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection in the Stathatos Mansion. Rare and original in its concept, the exhibition includes important nineteenth-century European and Greek Neoclassical works, in dialogue with ancient masterpieces, and is curated by art historian Dr Fani-Maria Tsigakou and Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis. Organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture andSports, co-organised with and sponsored by the AEGEAS Non-Profit Civil Company for Culture and Social Welfare.
In the meantime, visitors from anywhere in the world have the opportunity of enjoying the exhibition digitally with free access to a specially-designed microsite.
The overwhelming majority of pieces displayed are from the Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection, a unique treasure trove of Philhellenic chefs d’oeuvre, which is presented to the public for the first time. These are European, philhellenic artistic creations, as well as works by Greek artists inspired by subjects of antiquity, in dialogue with authentic antiquities from major museums in Italy and Greece, such as the CapitolineMuseums of Rome, the National Archaeological Museum of Venice, the Ostia Archaeological Museum, the National ArchaeologicalMuseum in Athens, Ancient Eleutherna, and the Rethymnon Archaeological Museum.
The exhibition Antiquarianism and Philhellenism: The Thanassis and Marina Martinos Collection is part of the “Dialogues” which the Museum of Cycladic Art has established in recent years. These are conversations between artworks that bridge different periods, revealing influences of the past in the present. Aim of the organizers is not merely to mount a historical or anniversary exhibition, or to approach the period through the military events, but to enhance two major currents, of Antiquarianism and Philhellenism, the one generative cause and the other fertile consequence, which aided the 1821 War of Independence and the founding of the Greek State.
The exhibition focuses on the antiquarian aspects of the philhellenic movement, before, during and after the Revolution. Antiquarianism was the most enduring link between Europeans and Greece. In the course of the Revolution it was transformed into Philhellenism and was imprinted visually in European artworks, while after the creation of the Greek State it was adopted by Greek Neoclassical artists in their endeavour to show the unbroken continuity of the ancient Hellenic heritage.
The exhibition includes 60 works from the Martinos Collection – oil paintings, sculptures, and diverse art objects such as figureheads, clocks, decorative porcelains, furniture, jewellery, urns, a wallpaper panorama, an embroidery, and a fan. Also displayed are five antiquities and one cast of a Roman antiquity.