From Byzantium to Modern Greece

From Byzantium to Modern Greece: Hellenic Art in Adversity, 1453-1830, examines the evolution of Hellenic art and culture during four centuries of tumultuous change under Venetian and Ottoman occupation. More than 137 works from all sectors of artistic production- icons , painting, woodcarving, metalwork, embroidery, costumes, jewelry, and pottery-present a comprehensive visual history of Hellenic culture from the fall of Byzantium in 1453, with the fall of Constantinople, to the founding of the modern Greek State in 1830. The color-illustrated catalogue includes 9 informative essays that explore the historic and socio-economic context of the period, the spiritual and artistic legacy of the Orthodox Church, the importance of home and decorative arts, the adornment of women, the depictions of Greece by foreign travelers, and the Greek Enlightenment and founding of the modern Greek State. Contributors to the exhibition catalogue include, in addition to the editors, Dimitris Arvanitakis, Head of Historical Research Department, Benaki Museum, Athens; Spyros I. Asdrachas. Historian, Research Director Emeritus, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens; Anna Ballian, Curator of Islamic Collection, post-Byzantine Metalwork and Textiles, Benaki Museum. Athens; Anastasia Drandaki, Curator of Byzantine Collection, Benaki Museum, Athens; Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Professor of Political Science, University of Athens; Director, Institute of Neohellenic Research/National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens; George Tolias, Research Director, Institute of Neohellenic Research /National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens; and Fani-Maria Tsigakou, Curator of Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Benaki Museum. Athens.