TRIBUTE TO 1821

UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC MS. KATERINA SAKELLAROPOULOU

The 1821 Before and After anniversary exhibition celebrating the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence was the most important ever organised by the Benaki Museum and the most extensive ever presented on modern Hellenism.

More than 1,200 objects and 1,218 catalogue pages introduced us to 100 years of modern Greek history between 1770 and 1870, unfolded over2,500 square metres of the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138 for 8 months (from March to November 2021). Because of the pandemic, the exhibition opened on 14 May 2021 and captivated 44,493 visitors.

The exhibition covered one hundred years of history, between 1770 and 1870. It began with the preparations for the liberation of the Greeks from the Ottoman Empire, which culminated with the 1821 War of Independence, and concluded with the first decades of the new Greek state. Rare works of art and unique period testimonies arranged across the three sections of the exhibition and presented in corresponding catalogue chapters offered altogether a fascinating journey through history and art, revealing why this adventurous century remains so deeply engaging, even in the 21st century.

This historic exhibition was dedicated to the memory of Angelos Delivorrias and Marinos Yeroulanos, two men who, each in his own way, are connected with the history, the shaping and the development of the Benaki Museum; with what it is today, and what it will be in the future.

Exhibition curators:

Tassos Sakellaropoulos, Head of Historical Archives, Benaki Museum, and

Maria Dimitriadou, Curator, Historical Archives, Benaki Museum

Exhibition designers: Pavlos Thanopoulos, Stage Designer, and

Natalia Boura, Head of Modern Greek Architecture Archives, Benaki Museum

Exhibition Contributors

For more information on the exhibition, please click HERE