To mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Ionian Academy, the Ionian University and the National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum are organizing an exhibition entitled Painting in the Ionian Islands: 18th-19th Centuries at the Annex of the National Gallery in Corfu.

This special exhibition presents painting in the Ionian region from the late Venetian period to the first decades after the Union, aiming to highlight an artistic production of key importance for the Greek countries in general, for the Greek state itself and, more broadly, for the Adriatic region.

The exhibition features more than 70 paintings by 30 artists (tempera, oil paintings, drawings, engravings), as well as related evidence (manuscripts, printed publications, archival documents) from the collections of the National Gallery as well as museums, cultural institutions, and archives.

The exhibition begins with examples of painting from the late Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands, on the one hand by the “naturalists” who followed Panagiotis Doxaras and on the other by those who followed a Byzantine style. Next, the exhibition highlights the work of Ionian artists who studied systematically at Italian academies of fine arts from the late 18th century onwards, and includes works from the time of the Revolution until the last decades of the 19th century, a period during which the so-called “Heptanese school” experienced a period of prosperity. Finally, the exhibition presents the impact of this art in the capital of the Greek state as well as in other areas of the Adriatic and the eastern Mediterranean.

Petros Pavlidis-Minotos
Portrait of Isabella Theotoki-Albritzi, mid-19th century
oil painting, 55×41 / 70x55x5
Reading Society, Corfu

The exhibition will feature educational programs for all levels of education, while an interesting public program with activities and numerous events is also being prepared.

As part of its strategy to reorganize its branches and in order to host this important exhibition, the National Gallery has upgraded the infrastructure of its Corfu branch, with a view to improving the visitor experience and ensuring the optimal presentation of the works. has upgraded the infrastructure of its Annex in Corfu, with a view to improving the visitor experience and ensuring the proper presentation of the works, in accordance with contemporary museological and museographic standards. A temporary exhibition space was created, giving the branch a new dynamic. In this way, in addition to the re-exhibition of the permanent collection, which is planned for 2026, it will now be possible to host important temporary exhibitions, which will be a magnet for residents and visitors to the island.

Artists whose works are featured in the exhibition

Georgios Avlichos, Aristidis Varouhas, Themistoklis Varouhas, Dionysios Vegias, Spyridon Ventouras, Nikolaos Viskontis, Angelos Gialinas, Panagiotis Doxaras, Konstantinos Iatras, Nikolaos Kallergis, Dionysios Kalivokas, Nikolaos Kantounis, Efstathios Karousos, Ioannis Korais, Nikolaos Koutouzis, Georgios Minatis, Vikentios Bokatsiambis, Nikolaos Xydias-Typaldos, Charalambos Pachis, Petros Pavlidis-Minotos, Gerasimos Pitzamanos, Ieronymos Plakotos, Eleni Sp. Prosalenti, Pavlos Prosalentis, Spyridon Prosalentis, Georgios Samartzis, Periklis Tsirigotis, Dionysios Tsokos, Raffaello Ceccoli.

Collaborating Institutions

Ministry of Culture – Ephorate of Antiquities of Zakynthos – Museum of Zakynthos, General State Archives, National Historical Museum – Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, Benaki Museum, Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA) of the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece (MIET), National Library of Greece, Library of the Hellenic Parliament, Library of the University of Crete, Public Central Historical Library of Corfu, Library and Information Center of the Ionian University, Art Collection of the Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank Art Collection, Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians Museum, Museum of Ecclesiastical Art of the Holy Monastery of Strofades and Agios Dionysios, Art Gallery of the Municipality of Central Corfu and the Diapontia Islands, Reading Society of Corfu, Angelos Gialinas Art Gallery Foundation, Antonios E. Komninos Foundation, Yannis Perdios Collection, Museo Correr, Greek Orthodox Community of Trieste (Comunità Greco Orientale di Trieste), Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Archivio Storico (Rome), Accademia di Belle Arti, Archivio Storico (Naples).

Xydias Nikolaos, (Lixouri, Kefalonia 1828-Athens 1909)
The artist’s son, 1870
Oil on canvas
Dimensions of work: 40 x 33 cm
Dimensions with frame: 55 x 47.5 x 8 cm Depth, frame, and stretcher
Dimensions of work EN: 40 x 33 cm
E. Koutlidis Foundation Collection
K.330

Chair of the Committee for the Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Founding of the Ionian Academy: Elias Giarenis, Ionian University

Proposal-General Coordination: Elena Hamalidi, Ionian University

Scientific Supervision: Panagiotis Ioannou, University of Crete

General Management– Artistic Planning: Syrago Tsiara, Art Historian

Museological Study – Exhibition Curator: Marina Papasotiriou, Curator of the Annex

of the National Gallery in Corfu

Exhibition Production and Space Design: Irini – Daphne Sapka, Technical Advisor to the National Gallery

The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue Painting in the Ionian Islands: 18th-19th centuries, scientific curators: Panagiotis Ioannou / Elena Hamalidi, Melissa Publications.

Information

National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum 

Corfu Annex

Castellino Building, Kato Korakiana

Duration: 22 October 2025 – 22 March 2026

Opening Hours: Monday– Wednesday– Thursday– Saturday- Sunday:  8.30 – 15.30 

Friday: 10.00 – 14.00 and 18.00 – 21.00, Tuesdays: closed. 

Access: The Annex is located 14 kilometers from the city of Corfu, in the area of Kato Korakiana, on the National Road of Paleokastritsa, in the direction of Dasia. Urban bus: No. 7, starting point: Saroko Square – KatoMeri stop