Innovation and ‘Greekness’ in the Fields of Art and Art Criticism, 19th Centrury
2013-2015
The aim of the program is to study the 19th century when, after the establishment of the Greek state, the transfer of Western artistic models/formulas have been instituted/established.
The openness of a society to innovation is detected not only in the sphere of production and economy, but also in the sphere of artistic creation which is related to the main dimension of social identity. In this realm the reactions are more intense and often articulated with a systematic theoretical reason through which one can approach the deeper attitude of a society towards innovation. The aim of the program is to study the 19th century when, after the establishment of the Greek state, the transfer of Western artistic models/formulas have been instituted/established. The rich theoretical debate in the visual arts by Greek artists and intellectuals living in Greece and abroad, which remains largely unknown, will be featured. The developments in the visual arts will be associated with similar phenomena in the Greek theater. In the theater despite the emphasis on modernity, the realistic drama, which is the characteristic theatrical expression of the modern industrial societies, encounters great reactions whden it was introduced to Greece. The next period that will be studied is that of the interwar period in which the introduction of modernisms in art provokes an intense discussion on "Greekness" in art associated with reflections that concern not only the visual arts and the theater but also the general attitude of the Greek society towards modernity and innovation.
The project was carried out in 2013-2015 in the context of the wider interdisciplinary research project of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies/FORTH, which was entitled “Greek History of Innovation: The Social Preconditions of Innovation. Aspects of the Greek Experience” (ELISTOKAINO).
Academic Supervisor
Evgenios D. Matthiopoulos (Professor of History of Western Art, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete)
Research team
- Evgenios D. Matthiopoulos (Professor of History of Western Art, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete)
- Alexandros Teneketzis (Doctor in Art History, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete)
- Lefteris Spyrou (Ph.D. candidate, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete)
Deliverables
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Collection of art critical texts for publication.
Project Team
