The exhibition “Antiquarianism and Philhellenism,” commemorating the bicentenary of the start of the Greek War of Independence, is available digitally here to visitors from around the world, with free access to a specially-designed microsite. 

The microsite invites visitors to take a virtual tour of the artworks on display in the Neoclassical surrounds of Stathatos Mansion, part of the Museum of Cycladic Art in central Athens. A separate video offers a curators’ guided tour through selected exhibition highlights (in Greek, with English subtitles).

Organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and curated by art historian Dr Fani Maria Tsigakou and Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis, the exhibition features important 19th century European and Greek works inspired by the spirit of Greek antiquity.

The artworks, including oil paintings, sculptures, and other ornamental objects, form part of the “Dialogues” project, an initiative that promotes conversations between important works from different periods at museums in Italy and Greece. These “dialogues” reveal influences of the past in the present.

The “Antiquarianism and Philhellenism” exhibition seeks to understand how the Neoclassical artists were inspired to create artworks that projected the virtues of the ancient past onto the freedom-fighters of the Revolution, thus emphasizing the similarities between the modern Greeks and their ancient ancestors.

Part of the exhibition, including the filmed guided tour, has been on display at the Art & Culture space in the Arrivals Hall at Athens International Airport since December 2020. Running until April 30, it remains the only in-person exhibition currently presented in Athens due to the restriction measures for Covid-19.

The exhibition will open to the public as soon as the restrictions for Covid-19 are lifted.