NATIONAL GALLERY-ALEXANDROS SOUTZOS MUSEUM

The collection of works of Greek art outlines the development of this pictorial creation from its beginnings in the Ionian islands until its most up-to-date expressions. The transition from religious, Byzantine painting to secular painting was realized οn the Ιοnian islands; the main character istic, οn the technical side, was the forsaking of egg tempera painting οn wood and the use of oil painting οn canvas, while stylistically the laws and motifs of Western art were adopted. There was a particular flowering of portraiture οn the Ionian islands, but other forms of art such as landscape painting, genre painting and historical painting were also cultivated.