Nikolaos Papadopoulos, a member of parliament from the far-right party “Niki” (B’ Thessaloniki), entered the National Gallery at noon, [1], [2] broke a protective glass panel, seized images, and threw them to the ground, shouting that they “insult religion.”
According to reports, a few days earlier, he had sent a letter to the gallery’s management requesting the removal of the exhibits and had also raised the issue with the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni.
The Ministry of Culture responded, saying, “In our efforts to protect the country’s cultural and artistic heritage, we never engage in acts of censorship.”
The images were part of the exhibition “The Enchantment of the Strange,” inspired by the works of F. Goya, currently hosted at the National Gallery.
The authorities were immediately notified, and he was arrested for aggravated damage. He was then transferred to GADA (Athens Police Headquarters) for prosecution.
The National Gallery is hosting two interconnected exhibitions that explore the relationship between art and the uncanny and the grotesque. On one side, Francisco Goya’s series of engravings, Los Caprichos, is showcased. On the other, the exhibition The Enchantment of the Strange draws inspiration from Goya’s works, featuring pieces from the permanent collections that focus on the themes Goya explored in his engravings: the uncanny, the hybrid, and the grotesque.
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