Exhibitions
Permanent Exhibition
The exhibition areas of CAMU welcomed the public for the first time in 1976, in the neoclassical Michaleas Mansion which had been newly-transformed into a museum. In 2010, with the addition of a new wing to Museum’s building complex, the permanent exhibition of the Canellopoulos Collection was redesigned and enriched, highlighting the diversity and continuity of Greek art over the centuries.
The permanent exhibition presents chronologically and thematically a large variety of archaeological findings, relics and artefacts. In total, 3,638 antiquities and works of art are exhibited, out of the more than 6,000 items that comprise the Collection, and which date from prehistoric to modern times. In the new wing, the remains of a medieval Athenian house attached to part of the 13th century Byzantine fortification wall of the Acropolis, the so-called Rizokastro, are preserved and are viewable between the exhibition areas.
Openness of the Collection
Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos followed a policy of openness with their Collection, even before the foundation of the Museum. The priceless Collection has carried Greek art across the world, contributing to increased collaborations with cultural institutions and museums. Artefacts from the Canellopoulos Museum continue to be lent to and exhibited in temporary exhibitions in Greece and abroad.
Namely, the Canellopoulos Museum has participated in:
1964 Exhibition “Byzantine Art – A European Art”, at the Zappeion Megaron, Athens, organised under the auspices of the Council of Europe
1987 Exhibition “Greece and Sea”, Amsterdam, on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture
1987 Exhibition “From Byzantium to El Greco: Greek Frescoes and Icons”, Royal Academy of London
1988-1990 Travelling exhibition “Holy Image, Holy Space: Icons and Frescoes from Greece”, USA
1989-1990 Exhibition “Eros Grec: Amour des Dieux et des Hommes”, Grand Palais, Paris
1994 Exhibition “Gates of Mystery: Treasures of Orthodoxy from Holy Russia and Greece”, National Gallery, Athens
1997 Exhibition “The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
2001-2002 Exhibition “The Ecumenical Byzantium”, Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens
2004 Exhibition “Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557)”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
2009-2010 Exhibition “Eros: From Hesiod’s Theogony to Late Antiquity”, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
2009-2010 Exhibition “The Origins of El Greco: Icon Painting in Venetian Crete”, Onassis Cultural Centre, New York City
2012 Exhibition “The Tale of Cupid and Psyche”, Castel Sant’Angelo National Museum, Rome
2014-2015 Exhibition “Beyond: Death and Afterlife in Ancient Greece”, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
2020-2021 Exhibition “Kallos. The Ultimate Beauty”, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
2022-2023 “The Byzantines. Dawn and Sunset of an Empire”, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Νάπολη & Palazzo Madama, Torino
finestresullarte.info
2023-2024 “Chaeronea, 2 August 338 BC: A day that changed the world”, Μuseum of Cycladic Art, Athens
cycladic.gr
2023-2025 “The Greeks. Agamemnon to Alexander the Great”, Hunan Museum & Nanjing Museum & Capital Museum, Beijing
whhlyt.hunan.gov.cn
