What I can see

In this modern building of the Interwar period (designed by Konstantinos Kitsikis), the artist Nikos Hadjikyriakos Gkikas lived; today the eponymous gallery is housed after being donated to the Benaki Museum. It includes many kinds of works (painting, sculpture, drafts, photographs, etc.), his apartment with its rich library (4th floor) and his workshop. On the ground floor there are works of French painting of the early 20th century, furniture of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and on the next three floors are displayed works by 201 Greek artists from the end of World War I to the 1967 military dictatorship.

What I can't see

The period from the Interwar times to the dictatorship was that in which Hatzikyriakos Gkikas shaped his artistic identity. The visitor is exposed to the ideas that flourished during the 20th century, with the dialectic between Greek artists and Europe as the strongest element. Among the most remarkable exhibits are also the “Interior with Canvas” (1927, Hatzikyriakos- Gkikas), “The Greek Arts” (1931 by Giannis Tsarouchis), “Loubardiaris” (drawing by Dimitris Pikionis), the Literature Nobel Prize of George Seferis (1963) and Vassilis Fotopoulos’ Oscar for his artistic direction of the film “Zorba the Greek” (1964).

Info

• Address: 3 Kriezotou St.
• Website: http://www.benaki.gr/index.asp?id=40206&lang=gr

Bibliography