Treasures of Philhellenic Painting: Exhibition at the Telloglio Foundation

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The exhibition includes works of Philhellenic painting with special national symbolism, works that compose a summary mural of modern Greece through the filter of visual Philhellenism

Completing the cycle of celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, the Telloglio Arts Foundation, the cultural body of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki that counts two decades of action and contribution, brings the art-loving public of the city in contact with the works of famous painters who gave birth to the philhellenic movement.

The thematic exhibition “Treasures of Philhellenic Painting” which for the first time presents the entire Collection of the Antonios E. Komnenos Foundation, was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni.

As Lina Mendoni said in her greeting:

The Revolution of 1821 was the final manifestation of a long process of awakening, redefining and maturing the national consciousness of the Greeks, which was built on the linguistic, value, ideological and generally cultural and symbolic foundations of the ancient past, as it survived in historical memory, but and in the feeling of the younger Greeks, it was cultivated by the European and Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment, rediscovered, interpreted and idealized by the currents of classicism and romanticism in Europe through the Renaissance. This very perception formed the starting point and the basis of the international movement of Philhellenism, which started from the intellectual world of the West and through art – painting, poetry and literature – acquired strong foundations in international public opinion, subsequently exerting strong pressure on the Western governments to actively intervene and contribute practically to the Greek case.

These characteristic aspects of the philhellenic movement strongly permeate the work of many European and Greek painters of the time, directly and indirectly influencing the inspiration of their thematics, and creating a trend that, in addition to being artistic, is also strongly activist. Samples of this current, real masterpieces of European painting, often monumental in nature and dimensions, often signed by great and well-known artists of various nationalities, Germans, French, English, Italians, Danes, but also some Greeks, are housed today in major museums around the world . A significant number of works, many of them creations of eminent artists, are presented in the exhibition we are inaugurating, coming from the Collection of the Antonios E. Komnenos Foundation. It is an exhibition that, through thirty-three works, in which artists of various nationalities and different ideological and technological approaches are represented, anthologizes the philhellenic repertoire in an even, complete and exciting way, offering the visitor both aesthetic pleasure and knowledge».

The Minister congratulated all the contributors of the organization as well as the management of Telloglio Foundation for its extroverted action.

The opening of the exhibition was also greeted by the Deputy Minister of Macedonia – Thrace Stavros Kalafatis, the Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Nikos Papaioannou, the President of the Foundation Antonios Komninos, the General Director of the Telloglio Foundation Alexandra Goulaki Voutiras, the art historian and curator of the exhibition Fani Maria Chigaku.

The exhibition includes works of Philhellenic painting with special national symbolism, works that compose a summary mural of modern Greece through the filter of visual Philhellenism. They were created by the most prominent European painters of the 19th century who were associated with the Philhellenic movement, in which the creators depicted the land of Greece, the protagonists of 1821, the events and acts of heroism, self-sacrifice and bravery associated with the struggle and the first period of Independence.

After the successful presentation of part of the collection of the Antonios E. Komnenos Foundation at the Benakeio Museum in Athens, the collection is exhibited as a whole in Thessaloniki and completes the cycle of anniversary exhibitions of the Telloglio Foundation for National Independence.

The perfect anthology of the Philhellenic repertoire and the coexistence of various ideological and technical approaches by artists of different nationalities that the exhibition contains, offer the viewer, in addition to aesthetic satisfaction, a lesson in art history. The exhibition, which will run until January 29, 2023, is accompanied by a richly illustrated bilingual edition.

Exhibition at Telloglio Foundation

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