The Coumandaros Art Gallery of Sparta—a branch of the National Gallery—presents the exhibition “Wassili Lepanto. Landscapes of the Soul, dedicated to the historical and man-made landscape, which in Wassili Lepanto’s thought and work is inextricably linked to the natural landscape. The artist interprets the landscape not simply by recording its external features, but as an inner revelation, as a means of elevating the human mind, as a landscape of the soul.

The exhibition features ten works by Lepanto depicting historical landscapes of Greece. The works come from the collection of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum and the Benaki Museum, and the majority of them were part of the donation made to the two institutions following the artist’s death. Well-known historical and archaeological sites, such as Mystras, Monemvasia, Acronauplia, Argos, Kythira, Mount Athos, and Olympos on Karpathos, are depicted through the unique perspective of the painter-philosopher.

The painter Vasilis Lepanto (Dr. Vasilis Loukopoulos) was born in Perdikovrysi, in the mountainous region of Nafpaktia, in 1940 and grew up in Athens. He moved to Germany to study German literature, history, and philosophy, and completed his doctoral dissertation on a scholarship at the University of Mannheim. He died in 2018 in Heidelberg, the “Athens of the North,” which had become his second home.

In the late 1970s, at a mature age, he put his scientific career on hold and decided to devote himself entirely to painting. In 1983, he published the manifesto “Art for Humanity or Ecological Art,” a distillation of his philosophy on art and life.

He focused primarily on landscape painting, and in his works he portrays nature as an ally, seeking the balance of the ecosystem and harmony with humanity. As an active citizen and city council member of Heidelberg, he played a leading role in the protection of the natural and historical environment.

National Library Greece-Alexandros Soutsos Museum General Directorate – Artistic Programming: Syrago Tsiara

Exhibition Curator: Monica Diamanti, Head of the Sparta Branch

Opening: Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Coumandaros Art Gallery, Sparta – Branch of the National Gallery

123 Konstantinou Paleologou & Thermopylon Streets

Sparta, 23100

Tel. 27310 81822, 27310 81557

Opening Hours:
Daily 08:00 – 15:00, Wednesdays 12:00-19:00, Tuesdays closed