Yannis Pappas | in search of Alexander
Extended until Sunday 3 November, the major exhibition in Nafplion by FOUGARO ARTCENTER, in partnership with the BENAKI MUSEUM, is dedicated to the work of the sculptor Yannis Pappas and in particular to his equestrian statue of Alexander the Great. Since 2019 this emblematic work has stood at the junction of the Queen Olga and Queen Amalia boulevards in the centre of Athens.
This is the first ever collaboration between the FOUGARO ARTCENTER and the BENAKI MUSEUM.
The exhibition Yannis Pappas | in search of Alexander, focuses on the whole creative process involved in the realisation of this sculptural masterpiece, which lasted 32 years. Pappas's first experiments began in 1941, the work was only cast in bronze in 1972. This exhibition represents the first opportunity for the public to follow the entire lengthy process of the sculptor's work from his sketches, studies, maquettes, photographs and other objects from his studio, the majority of which have never before been seen in public.
Yannis Pappas first began work on this project, uncommissioned, during the wartime German Occupation. For three decades he systematically and relentlessly researched every detail of the work, examining ancient sculptures and mosaics with representations of Alexander, conducting in-depth anatomical studies of horses from nature as well as making numerous sketches of equestrian statues from the Renaissance and countless other trials in the attempt to find the ideal solution.
In the end, it was Yannis Pappas's love for the man that led him to represent Alexander not as a general, a warrior and conqueror, but as an ambassador of Greek-ness in the furthest corners of the known world. Worshipped as a god and subject of artistic and intellectual interest until modern times, Alexander has been immortalised by the quest of this great artist as a symbol of humanism.
The exhibition comes with educational programmes, workshops and a printed catalogue
curators
Antonis J. Kontroyiannis
Theo Bargiotas
contributors
Christine Hollinetz, Vassilis Markakis, Dimosthenes Pimplis, Manos Dimitrakopoulos
lighting design
Filippos Koutsaftis
BENAKI MUSEUM / Yannis Pappas Studio
information for visitors
38 Anakreontos St, Zografou, Athens.
Visiting hours: Tue, Fri & Sun, 10:00–14:00, free admission
The space housing the Yiannis Pappas workshops is situated in Zografou, in the building which was his family home until the 1960s. The building, which is the only example of a workshop belonging to an artist equally dedicated to painting and sculpture, was gifted to the BENAKI MUSEUM by the artist's family. The fundamental purpose of the gift was to ensure that the artist's work remained centred in the environment in which it was created. In accordance with the artist's wishes the workshop remains to this day a space for artists and students to work.
Yannis Pappas (1913 - 2005)
Yannis Pappas was born in Constantinople. In 1922 his family moved to Athens, where he finished school.
In 1930 he enrols at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris under professor Jean Boucher. In 1937 he is awarded the gold medal at the International Exposition of Paris.
He returns to Greece in 1939, and in 1940 he wind the sculpture award at the Panhellenic Exhibition. In October 28 of the same year he is drafted in the army and serves in the front line. Returning from the war front in April 1941, he spends the Occupation years working at his studio in the Zografou district.
In December 1944 he joins the Royal Navy and serves at the Alexandria Naval Command as a seaman. He stays in Alexandria till 1952 and then returns to Athens where, in 1953, he is elected professor of Sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Between 1959 and 1969 he serves as the elected director of the School.
In 1972 he becomes the first Greek artist to be elected as corresponding member to the French Academy. He represents Greece in the Venice Biennale with sculptures and paintings, and in 1980 he is elected to the Academy of Athens. From 1981 to 1991 he creates numerous works for public spaces in Athens and other Greek cities.
Major exhibitions
2006 “Yannis Pappas (1913-2005). Studies on equestrian statuary”, BENAKI MUSEUM
1998 “Yannis Pappas, Painting 1936-1974”, BENAKI MUSEUM
1992 retrospective, GREEK NATIONAL GALLERY
In conjunction with his work as a sculptor and painter, he translated works on art, literature and philosophy from English, French, German and Italian.
