Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863)

Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi, 1826

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux

In 2021, Greece is celebrating the bicentenary of its independence; it was also 200 years ago, in 1821, that the Venus de Milo first entered the Louvre’s collections. This exhibition traces the cultural, diplomatic and artistic ties between Greece and France in the 19th century and shows how the rediscovery of Greek antiquity changed the European view of Greece.

Major French and Greek paintings like Delacroix’s “Greece on the ruins of Missolonghi” or “The Kiss” by Nikiphoros Lytras are accompannied by ancient Greek statuary, Byzantine icons and wonderful views of 19th century Athens and the major archeological sites of Greece. We will use these to trace in our presentation the tumultuous birth and evolution of modern Greece.

Exhibition at the Louvre from September 30th, 2021 to February 7th 2022