Rare Exhibition of Paintings by European Philhellenes Opens In Thessaloniki

A rare exhibition of paintings by 19th-century European Philhellenes opened at the Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation in Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Thursday.

Titled Treasures of Philhellenic Painting, the exhibition features fifty works of renowned European Philhellene artists from the collection of the Anthony E. Comninos Foundation, and it will run through January 29, 2023.

Parts of the Comninos collection had previously been showcased on the island of Syros and in Athens’ Benaki Museum, but the exhibition at the Teloglion in Thessaloniki features the collection in its entirety.

Rare anthology of European Philhellenes’ paintings

The Treasures of Philhellenic Painting exhibition consists of famous pieces which touch on all aspects of Philhellenism in the 19th century, namely the love of antiquities among cultured Europeans, the support of Christendom, and the sympathy of liberals everywhere.

“The collection is not only fascinating, but complete, as it also includes representations of the Greek landscape, in which the beginnings of visual Philhellenism can be traced, given that these Greek landscapes contributed to the European Greece gaining territoriality,” the Teloglion Foundation explains on its website.

The Teloglion Foundation also maintains that the perfect anthology of the philhellenic repertoire and the coexistence of artists of various nationalities and different ideological and stylistic approaches that the exhibition contains offer viewers a lesson in art history coupled with aesthetic pleasure.

The exhibition was organized in the context of the celebrations for the Bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence and curated by Dr. Fani-Maria Tsigkakou.