The neoclassical building where the gallery is held, houses a collection of works of art dedicated to the liberating cause of the Greeks against the Turks (Th. Vrizakis, F. Margaritis, Dion. Tsokos, N. Gyzis, Nik. Lytras and more) which underlines and provides the aesthetic element to the historic note of the city of Nafplio. The aim of this collection of paintings seeks to glorify the struggles of the Greeks and their ongoing yoke, extracting the realistic element of the cause and escalating them to the sphere of the idealistic.

"1821- Figures and Themes of the Greek Revolution". The exhibition of the works of art is branched into five units, demonstrating historical facts, whose creation has been designed while the 19th century art movement was flourishing in Greece as well as in other parts of Europe. What seemed to arouse the imagination of the romantic creators of those fine pieces was the dramatization of a series of events, a continuum of the Greek revolt

The waging war against the Turks symbolized the clash between Culture and Savagery, the Holy Cross with the Crescent Moon, Freedom versus Oppression.

Most of the scenes serve to make the visitor get moved by, to stress the esoteric conflicts, the passion and the overflowing emotional waves of the oppressed, to teach and guide the viewer into the element of emulation.

There is no denying that the events are molded in a moralistic attitude which helps to intensify the moment and transport the viewer into the very tragedy of the protagonists.

Παράλληλα προς την έκθεση ζωγραφικών έργων, γλυπτά αντικείμενα καθημερινής χρήσης, οπλισμός των αγωνιστών συμπληρώνουν την έκθεση, αποδεικνύοντας το εύρος της διάδοσης των εικονογραφικών θεμάτων του Αγώνα.

In a better understanding of the paintings, there are also sculpted items of everyday use and armory of the fighters which complete the jigsaw puzzle of the exhibition proving at the same time the breadth of popularity of the thematic paintings of the Greek War of Independence.

Sample works:

                    Theodoros Vrizakis,                                    Rodriguez Barcaza Ramon,                            Theodoros Vrizakis,
                    The Greek Woman                                      Child in Greek Attire                             "Hellas" seen as a woman, Indebted 

The Department of the National Art Gallery also houses a number of albums and art books alongside a hall for short-term exhibitions, offering the museum the dynamics and the attraction needed to define its functionality.

There are also some educational programs which address pupils of the schools of the prefecture as well as an art workshop for children.

The Gallery opened its gates to an engraving exhibition, which displayed the history of Nafplio from the 16th to the 19th century. The title of the exhibition was: Nafplio in European Engraving, 16th-19th century, Ioannis Fotopoulos family collection.

From September the 30th of 2006 to July the 16th, the public was presented with: The authentic figures of the 1821 Greek Revolt, by Karl Krazeisen, 1826-1831, with all the drafts, aquarelles, lithography.

July 29th- November 30th , 2006: Atribute to "Simeon Savvidis"

From December 18th to May 30th, the cycle of life was displayed in the hall for short term exhibitions of the National Gallery Museum, featuring 24 works of art by Georgios Iakovidis.

June 14th – October 28th , 2007: " Correspondence. Flowers from contemporary Greek art." In cooperation with Alpha Bank.

December 2007- September 2008: The Museum houses an exhibition, which is only a fraction of the newly-arrived pieces acquired by the management of the museum, Mrs Marina Lambraki-Plaka, an effort which lasted from 1992 to 2007, an astounding number of 3,000 pieces of art.

September 27th, 2008: the Department of the Museum of Art Gallery in cooperation with Al. Soutzou Museum inaugurated an exhibition in remembrance of Ioannis Kapodistrias, entitled: "Ioannis Kapodistrias, The protomartyr of New Hellas" aiding in that way to the celebrations held by the Municipality of Nafplio and "Ioannis Kapodistrias" Intellectual Centre, for the 180 years of the declaration of Nafplio as the first capital of Greece and the arrival of the first governor of Greece.

March 23rd – May 10th: The exhibition on display focuses on: "General Makrygiannis and the Presentation of the war", which aligns with Fred Boissonas innovative and ingenious lithography work. His work reproduces 24 aquarelles of Demetrios Zografos, which are originally placed in Gennadeios Library.

This time of the year (June 2011) the Gallery honors the works of Panayiotis Tetsis, an academic and distinguished artist, presenting sample pieces of the vast units-motifs that he has been occupied with.

Lambrini Karakourti- Orfanopoulou
Art Historian- National Gallery

Phone Number: 27520 21915-35

Visiting Hours:

Monday, Thursday, Saturday               10.00-15.00
Wednesday and Friday                        10.00-15.00 & 17.00-20.00
Sunday                                               10.00-14.00
Closed on Tuesdays

The Museum offers free entrance on Mondays.