National Gallery of Athens

About

The National Gallery (Greek: Εθνική Πινακοθήκη, Ethniki Pinakothiki) is an art museum located on Vasilissis Sofias avenue in the Pangrati district, Athens, Greece. It is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century to the 20th century. The newly renovated building reopened after an 8 year refurbishment, on 24 March 2021, a day before the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.

It was established in 1878 as a small collection of 117 works exhibited at the Athens University. In 1896, Alexandros Soutzos, a jurist and art lover, bequeathed his collection and estate to the Greek Government aspiring to the creation of an art museum. The museum opened in 1900 and the first curator was Georgios Jakobides, a famous Greek painter who was a member of the Munich School artistic movement. After World War II the works began for a new building. After relocating the sculptures in the new National Glyptotheque, there was a discussion to renovate the main building and to build a new wing, which was completed in 2021.

In 2025, an exhibition at the gallery titled "The Allure of the Bizarre" was attacked by Niki MP Nikolaos Papadopoulos and a companion who threw four paintings to the floor and broke their glass frames, saying that the paintings were offensive to Orthodox Christianity. The two were briefly detained.

The gallery exhibitions are mainly focused on post-Byzantine Greek Art. The gallery owns and exhibits also an extensive collection of European artists. Particularly valuable is the collection of paintings from the Renaissance. [ citation needed ]

- Jan Brueghel the Younger The Virgin in Paradise

- El Greco The Concert of the Angels, Christ on the Cross with the Two Maries and St John, Saint Peter

- Jacob Jordaens The Adoration of the Shepherds

- Zanino di Pietro Virgin with Child and Angels

- Jacopo del Sellaio Saint Jerome in the desert

- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Eliezer and Rebecca, The Agony in the Garden

- Ivan Aivazovsky Burning of the Turkish flagship

- Jacob Beschey Moses Drawing Water from the Rock

- Cecco del Caravaggio Youth with musical instruments

- Eugène Delacroix Mounted Greek Warrior

- René Magritte The Healer (Le thérapeute), bronze sculpture, gift from Alexander Iolas

- Willem van Mieris Lady with the Parrot

- Peter Paul Rubens The Feast of the Epiphany, Adoration of the Shepherds

- Jan Brueghel the Younger The Virgin in Paradise

- El Greco The Concert of the Angels, Christ on the Cross with the Two Maries and St John, Saint Peter

- Jacob Jordaens The Adoration of the Shepherds