Saturday 15 February 2020

Athens - The Museum of Cycladic Art

Monday afternoon it was time to escape the cold and get inside to discover a couple of museums. First we walked over to the Museum of Cycladic Art.




Here they have a huge collection of Greek and Cypriot art, and the world's finest collection of Cycladic art. It was nicely curated, and I mostly was interested in pieces similar to those we have in LAD; and pieces that have something to do with the university course about Ancient Cultures I'm studying this term. 


The Cycladic figurines never really became as popular as the Classical sculpture, although you sure can see how their simplicity have inspired many 20th century artists, like Picasso and Modigliani. 


The museum is in two parts and this wing of the museum, housed in the Stathátos Mansion, opened in 1992. It is housed in this elegant neo-classical building, designed by Ernst Ziller in 1895.


Here they hold temporary exhibitions, currently there was one by the American sculptor and visual artist Lynda Benglis, called 'In the Realm of the Senses'. The rooms and spaces of this mansion seemed to suit her sculptures especially well.



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