Visiting National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum

TRAVEL

Apr 27

Back in January, my wife and I visited the National Gallery in Athens.

It's a relatively short walk from our home. The day was a Sunday and it was so beautiful. (All Sundays are beautiful in Greece.)

Varotsos Costas (1955) ,Spiral, Glass, iron | Zongolopoulos Giorgos (1903 - 2004), Umbrellas, Stainless metal

We walked briskly to the renovated building of the National Gallery and walked in, ready to be mesmerized by its treasures. And we were truly enchanted.

Tetsis Panayiotis (1925 - 2016)
Street Market
Oil on canvas

The last time I had been there was several years ago, when the building was still old and dysfunctional, and certainly before the famous Picasso theft.

I think the new building is in itself a famous reason to visit. Bright, simple, it exudes an understated grandeur without stealing the visitor's attention from the masterpieces it houses within. Beautiful, spacious rooms, large open spaces, a lovely café and conversation with the city blend harmoniously into a wonderful experience of visiting a place full of art.

Acropolis rock, as seen from the National Gallery

There are many paintings we admired and some we didn't even know were part of the National Gallery's collection. For me, visiting a museum is such a unique and fulfilling experience that I have no hesitation in saying that photography and video fail to even remotely represent it (not that this means, of course, that I won't try). For what it's worth, however, I think that, surprisingly, a properly curated catalogue in print might do a better job of conveying the museum experience.

20240107_© Nick Boutsikos_The Parthenon.jpg

20240107_© Nick Boutsikos_The Acropolis.jpg

20240107_© Nick Boutsikos_La Belle Epoque-Michael Vodas Soutzos.jpg

20240107_© Nick Boutsikos_Portrait of a Woman-Self Portrait.jpg

20240107_© Nick Boutsikos_Ships at Anchor.jpg

One of the many surprises of the Gallery was the painting called "The Virgin Mary" by the painter Doxaras Panagiotis (1662 - 1729). Our late mother had a very poor copy of the painting hanging in our old house and for over 35 years I had not known any information about it - until now! I don't know why mother had chosen this copy to adorn our house, the only piece of art I remember from my childhood, but I assume it had something to do with its religious theme. What a great discovery.

Doxaras Panagiotis (1662 - 1729), The Virgin Mary, Oil on canvas | Theotokopoulos Domenicos (El Greco) (1541 - 1614), St. Peter, Oil on canvas

Hidden in an inaccessible but visible corner was Picasso's painting "Woman's Head" (after he managed to return, after his many adventures). The painting had been donated by Picasso himself to the Greek people, as a tribute to his brave resistance during the Nazi occupation. It is a portrait of the photographer Dora Maar (1907 - 1997), Picasso's companion during the period 1936-1943. On 09 January 2012, a man managed to steal it (along with another painting by Mondrian) and it was eventually found again in 2021. Another grotesque moment occurred during the press conference for the presentation of the lost works of art, when the Picasso painting...fell and the employee picked it up from underneath with his bare hands.

Picasso Pablo (1881 - 1973), Woman’s Head, Oil on canvas | Paralis Giorgos (1908 - 1975), Barbara’s Sink, Oil on canvas

Finally, I must mention the brilliant curation of the temporary exhibition entitled "Urbanography", where we saw, among others, works by probably my favourite Greek photographer ever, Mr Dimitris Harisiadis. The man has been a poet with a camera. I adore him.