The exhibition “Ioannis Makriyiannis: Vital Expression,” is running through September 29 in an elegant room in the west wing of the historic building of Gennadius Library in the leafy Kolonaki district of central Athens, the first of a series of exhibitions being planned at the library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
It was March 1839 and General Ioannis Makriyiannis was hosting a rich banquet at his Athens home near the Temple of Olympian Zeus, attended by 250 eminent guests, from foreign diplomats in tailcoats to chieftains in foustanellas. Makriyiannis had organized this lavish gathering to formally unveil a series of 25 paintings on the 1821 Greek War of Independence that he had commissioned from folk artists Panagiotis and Dimitrios Zografos featuring scenes of battle as described in his “Memoirs.” He also wanted to gift copies of the egg tempera-on-wood paintings to the leaders of the three big powers – Britain, France and Russia – as well as to Greece’s King Otto.
Makriyiannis achieved his mission, though his gifts appear to have not been greatly appreciated: With the exception of the series that was sent to Queen Victoria and is currently at Windsor Castle, the other three were eventually lost.
That was until the spring of 1909, when Joannes Gennadius saw an auction catalogue advertising the sale of 24 “coarse watercolors on cardboard by a Greek general who participated in the wars of independence.” How these paintings – which were the ones given to Otto – had ended up in Italy is another charming story, which we will not get into here. What matters is that Gennadius bought the series, which can now be viewed at his library, alongside other related items on loan from the National Historical Museum, the Historical Archives of the Benaki Museum, the General Archives of the State and the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation.
The distinguished painter Yiannis Tsarouchis once described Panagiotis Zografos’s work as “naive and wise,” while poet Giorgos Seferis lauded the series for the exceptional detail with which they depict the scenes narrated by Makriyiannis, but also for their esthetic value.
These paintings are augmented by other exhibits that transport visitors to the period of modern Greece’s birth, as it struggled to come up with a new identity.
The catalogue by Kapon, in Greek and English, is equally beautiful, and contains a wealth of information and analyses on Makriyiannis.
Gennadius Library, 61 Souidias, Kolonaki, tel 210.721.0536. Opening hours are Tuesday-Wednesday & Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Thursday 1-8 p.m. Entrance is free of charge.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Karl Krazeisen License: CC-BY-SA
