Petrunina, Olga E. The Old Royal Palace in Athens and the Greek National Idea

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa200-1-5
Title The Old Royal Palace in Athens and the Greek National Idea
Author email petrunina@narod.ru
About author Petrunina, Olga Evgenievna — full doctor, professor. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Leninskie Gory, 1, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation.
In the section European Art in the Modern Times DOI10.18688/aa200-1-5
Year 2020 Volume 10 Pages 64–73
Type of article RAR Index UDK 7.035(420)26 Index BBK 85.113(3)
Abstract

The paper explores the process of forming the ensemble of the Old Palace in Athens in the 19th‑20th centuries in connection with the development of the Megale Idea — the Greek national idea, which gradually became the state ideology of the Greek Kingdom. From the very beginning, the Royal palace as the residence of the chief of state was considered a visual symbol of the diachronic unity of the Greek ethnos. Its location, architectural design and interior decoration served this aim. The financial difficulties of the newborn Greek state hindered the architects in their efforts to complete the project of the palace. Nevertheless, the author of the final project F. Gärtner and the German artists who worked on the interiors managed to demonstrate maintaining continuity between the ancient Hellenes and the modern Greeks. The foundation of a palace chapel emphasized the continuity between Byzantine and modern Greeks. The construction of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the transformation of the palace into the residence of the national parliament seemed to be significant stages of the evolution of the ensemble. They did not change the general ideological attitude of the palace, but supplemented it with new content focusing on national values such as democracy and the struggle for independence. The latest additions to the palace ensemble, emphasizing these values, have been made in our time.  
Keywords
Reference Petrunina, Olga E. The Old Royal Palace in Athens and the Greek National Idea. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 10. Ed: A. V. Zakharova, S. V. Maltseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova. — Lomonosov Moscow State University / St. Petersburg: NP-Print, 2020, pp. 64–73. ISSN 2312-2129. http://dx.doi.org/10.18688/aa200-1-5
Publication Article language russian
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