A walk into unknown Greece
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Levidi, Gortynia - Preserving the face of Kolokotronis
- Details
- Thursday, 25 March 2010
Theodore Kolokotronis died in Athens on February 3rd, 1843. His remains were laid out in a church in Athens, so the public could pay its respects. While the great general was on his deathbed, an unknown artist casted his face. This way, the facial characteristics of Kolokotronis, also known in Greece as the “Old Man of the Morea*”, were salvaged. This historical and valuable cast is kept at the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Athens.
A great private museum
In 1968, the curator of the Historical and Ethnological Museum Ioannis Meletopoulos asked Giannis Pappas, a professor at the Fine Arts School in Athens, to restore the aging plaster and sculpt two copper masks of Kolokotronis’ face. The copper masks can be viewed by the public at the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Athens and the Military Museum of Athens. George Chouliaras, Giannis Pappas assistant, took special care of the original plaster, lest it be damaged. In order to make the copper masks, he first duplicated the cast and used the copy to make the copper masks.
Years later, art historian Nick Gregorakis came into possession of the copy and donated it to the Arcadian Museum of Art and History, founded in Levidi of Gortynia by art collector George Christodoulopoulos. Nick Grigorakis also donated a bronze sculpture he had made in Athens, using the cast in his possession. The exhibits are exposed in a separate showcase in “Kolokotronis hall” of the Arcadian Museum and are greatly admired by visitors, who have the opportunity to “see” the face of the Old Man of the Morea.
Revolution artifacts
The creator of the Arcadian Museum, George Christodoulopoulos, travelled to London and paid a considerable amount of money to buy, amongst other things, two drawings of Kolokotronis by G. Deangelis, at an auction.
He was at the right place at the right time and rescued the two artifacts, which could have ended up in a private collection somewhere around the world without the Greeks being able to enjoy them.
He did not buy them in order to resell them, but to rescue them and exhibit them so that they could be viewed by his fellow countrymen, amongst other great artworks, mostly engraved art of Arcadian interest.
In magical Arcadia, where Kolokotronis lived and fought, there are people who struggle and spend a substantial amount money in order to keep his memory alive. Travellers who visit the “womb” of the Greek Revolution, Arcadia, don’t only walk on the same land as Kolokotronis but they can see his face as well.
The exhibits of the Arcadian Museum of Art and History, which is harmonically built into the natural beauty of the Arcadian landscape, are presented by the important Arcadian art historian and director of the museum Nick Gregorakis in the book “Subjects and exhibits of art and history”, by Militons and Dryades publications.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com
MORE PHOTOS
The "Kolokotronis" hall of the Arcadian Museum.
Design of 1838 by G. Deangelis, about the exodus of Kolokotronis from the Ionian Islands in 1806.
Exceptional spaces of the Arcadian Museum of Art and History.
"Dryades" hotel in the complex of which the Arcadian Museum is being housed.
Beautiful Levidi of Gortynia (Photo: Miltos Giannelos)
IMAGE RY
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