12 April 2011 until 08 September 2014

The Byzantine and Christian Museum boasts an excellent collection of modern and contemporary art. Most of the works in the collection are copies (paintings, casts, mosaics, wall-paintings) of works by 20th-century artists from Greece and abroad, as well as by artist-conservators who have worked at the Museum.

The collection reveals the burgeoning interest in Byzantine art from the 19th century on.
Divided into five sections, the exhibition traces the reception of Byzantine art by European and Greek artists, its incorporation into Greece’s national cultural heritage by the artists of the Thirties Generation, the contribution of conservators to preserving Byzantine monuments, the role played by copies both in familiarising a wider audience with Byzantine art and in documenting its monuments, and, finally, the impact of Byzantine culture on contemporary artistic production.

The exhibition presents works of the Greek artists Photis Kontoglou, Demetrios Pelekasis, Yannis Tsarouchis, Rallis Kopsidis, Polykleitos Rengos, Aristotelis Zachos, Pantelis Zographos, Antonis Glinos, Antonis Paterakis, Omiros, Labros Gatis, Markos Kampanis and of the European Émile Gilliéron père and Francesco Novo.

The works are presented in the last hall of the permanent exhibition of the Byzantine Museum entitled “Byzantium & Modern Art”. As the Museum director Demetrios Konstantios wrote in 2009 this exhibition section consists of “a museological innovation concerning the presentation of the reception of Byzantine Civilization by the contemporary artists”. Museum’s wish is to always present in this hall various activities showing the multifarious connection between Byzantium and today.

Curator: Ioanna Alexandri
Architect-Museographer: Avgi Tzakou
Architect Design Support: Spyros Nasenas
Photo: Veronique Magnes