From Monet to Warhol - 1: Impressionism

From Monet to Warhol  1,  Impressionism

at the Goulandris Foundation, Athens.

A wonderful exhibition, which gave me great pleasure. Firstly because it was great seeing paintings that I had seen before and loved. Secondly because some of it was new to me, and this includes artists I had not come across before.

The ensemble of eighty three works of forty five artists, mostly paintings,  which is on loan from a Swiss private collection, was assembled over three generations, affording us the opportunity to retrace the history of modern art from the 1880s until the present day.

Most of the major movements, currents and trends that have marked the evolution of painting are touched upon here: Impressionism, Symbolism, Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Japonisme, Synthetism, the Nabis, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. They reflect the increasing changes imposed on perspective, colour and figuration, as well as the historical context in which they were conceived.

Impressionism:

In 1873 a group of young artists mounted their first exhibition in Paris. The critic Louis Leroy came up with the pejorative term 'Impressionism' to refer to them. The group included Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. 

The movement is characterised by: visible brushstrokes; open composition; emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time); ordinary subject matter;  unusual visual angles; and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience.

Camille Pissaro, Delafolie Brick Kiln at Eragny, 1888, (oil on canvas)

Camille Pissarro, The  Flock of Sheep, Eragny, 1888, (oil on canvas)

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1914, (oil on canvas)

In 1899 Monet started painting the vast water garden that he designed and in the middle of which reigned supremely his celebrated water lilies. This version announced the large panel that he created expressly for the space at the Orangeries des Tuileries museum.

Edgar Degas, The Laundresses, 1902-04, (charcoal and stump on tracing paper)

Charles Angrand, Maternity, 1896, (conte crayon on paper)

Georges Seurat, The Artist's Mother, 1882, (conte crayon on paper)

Berthe Morisot, Girl with Fan, 1893, (oil on canvas)

Berthe Morisot, Girl with a Cat, 1892, (oil on canvas)

Gazi

Gazi is a neighbourhood in Athens which surrounds the old gasworks, hence the name. The gasworks are an industrial museum and exhibition space called Technopolis, widely known as Gazi.

The old gasworks was founded in 1857. During the mid-20th century, small dwellings with few rooms and large gardens began to spring up around the gasworks. These were generally home to large, poor families, a lot of them crate makers. In 1967, due to difficult socio-economic conditions in northern Greece, many Muslim families came to live in the area, working at the gasworks.

To this day, there is a heavy Muslim presence in the area which gives it a wonderful multicultural atmosphere. One of the elementary schools in the area, the 87th Elementary School of Athens has a student body comprising 70% Muslim, 20% Greek Orthodox and 10% Albanian and Romanian.

There's been a process of gentrification in the last few years: a lot of building work is going on, and a lot of nightclubs, cateferias, restaurants have sprung up. A lot of gay and lesbian bars and several gay-friendly shops have sprung up as well, establishing the area as an entertainment district. 

One of the branches of the Benaki Museum is situated in Gazi and whenever we go to see an exhibition we then walk around the district, and sometimes stop for a drink or a meal. After the last exhibition we saw at the museum, we started walking around, taking a different route to our usual one.

This unusual building is just behind the museum

while this one, called the Urban Gazi Residence, is almost completed.

We walked past this church

I really like this building

another unusual modern building.

We joined this road, which is next

to the railway line. The train running on this line is the Kifissia - Pireus route.

Interesting street art, 

which gets even better once you see what's around the corner.

We could not work out what this building is. Monastery? Church admin?

I could not get all of it in one photograph as the road is quite narrow, with the railway line in the way

Another unusual building - is the round tower the stairwell? The lift?

We turned right and left the railway line behind us

and now the entertainment side of the district starts.

Ah! This made me homesick for Sarakiniko in Milos. You can see it here . It's like no other place on earth, I must go there again, soon.

A night club

I liked the name of this place, the play of words. It's called Thaiverna - clever and fun.

A meze (tapas) place, called Gazi Village

An iNo mural. I love his work. Always beautiful and thought-provoking.

We arrived at the square and could see the gas works on the  edge of the square.

Two sides of the square are lined with bars and tavernas, all closed at this hour

A metro station is here too

I love this modern apartment building which is next to the gas works

We entered Gazi, the old gasworks, a multipurpose cultural center today. The factory is the best-preserved of its kind in Europe, and the only one retaining all its mechanical equipment in situ. Melina Mercouri, as Minister of Culture, preserved the Athens Gasworks as a listed historic monument in 1986. The industrial complex began operating in 1862 as as the first energy production unit in Greece, providing lighting to Athens. After 122 years of operation, the furnaces were permanently extinguished in 1984 due to pollution and obsolescence. Now, as a cultural centre, Technopolis, is a recognised cultural venue hosting festivals, exhibitions and events.

I love these tall chimneys, 

and they are everywhere

We went inside one of the exhibition spaces

to see the Don McCullin exhibition

all the mechanical equipment still here, alongside the photographs

We moved from one area to another, sometimes under arches

and sometimes up  the stairs

We left the exhibition

There was also some kind of sailing fair but that did not interest us

so we left the gasworks looked at some of the street art of the area and headed towards home.