The leading Greek seaographer, Konstantinos Volanakis, “returns” to the island where he was born, Crete, for the first time.

The 57 works of the painter of imperial triumphs, of the glorious moments of Greek history, but also of humble fishing boats, compose the exhibition “Konstantinos Volanakis: Homecoming by the sea, works from the collection of the Aikaterinis Laskaridis Foundation” which will be held at the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania and has been placed under the auspices of S.A. of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

The exhibition also includes oil paintings belonging to the Naval Headquarters, the Hellenic Parliament and the Bank of Greece.

Ancient Greek triremes, sailing ships, steamships and boats, in legendary naval battles, arson attacks, but also everyday scenes have appeared on the canvases of the painter, who, although he was one of the most important representatives of the Munich School, bypassed ethnographic subjects and portraits – a trend followed by most of the artists of this particular school – and devoted himself obsessively to the sea and the life around it.

The exhibition “Konstantinos Volanakis: Homecoming by the sea, works from the collection of the Aikaterinis Laskaridis Foundation” is the first presentation of the painter’s work in his native land, Crete, 186 years since his birth and 172 years since he moved with his family in Syros.

“If a Greek visual artist can “claim” that he faced the immensity of the sea, then he is none other than Konstantinos Volanakis (1837-1907).

His artistic production, spanning over half a century, covering almost the entire second half of the 19th and the first years of the 20th century, yielded a set of works unsurpassed, quantitatively and qualitatively.

The fact that he was not rewarded, at least as much as he should have been, by his art during his lifetime, has to do with the state of modern Greek art and more broadly with the historical facts in Greece of his time; the fact that today he is now duly honored – and overrated, in terms of commercial – is again related to the facts of modern Greek reality.

What is certain is that Konstantinos Volanakis rendered with his paint the sea and, above all, its world, in a unique way, thereby enshrining, artistically and culturally, the most emblematic element and field of the Greek world, seafaring”, he notes among other things the curator of the exhibition, Art historian and curator of the art collection of the Hellenic Parliament, Thodoris Koutsoyiannis.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a color fully illustrated bilingual (Greek-English) catalogue.

During it, organized guided tours for adults and educational programs for students of all school levels will be planned.

Useful

Exposure Time:

Friday 21 July – Wednesday 31 January 2024

Municipal Art Gallery of Chania – Halidon 98-102

Tel: +30 28210 92294 and +30 28210 92419

Website: www.pinakothiki-chania.gr

Facebook & Instagram: @MunicipalArtGalleryChania

Source: www.chania-culture.gr

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Gallery Opening Hours

Summer opening hours

From: May 1 to September 31,  MONDAY to SATURDAY Hours: 10:00-14:00 & 19:00-22:00

Winter opening hours

From: October 1 to April 31, TUESDAY to SATURDAY Hours: 10:00 – 14:00 & 18:00-21:00, SUNDAY hours: 10:00 – 14:00

The Municipal Gallery remains closed during public holidays of the state, but also on November 21, a public holiday in the city of Chania .