Collections of the Goulandris Museum

Collections of the Goulandris Museum

Passing the elegant neoclassical entrance to the ground floor you see the portrait of Eliza Goulandris, the creation of Chagall. The French artist miraculously captures in his work all the elegance of the Hellenic beauty, who stands full of pride, as if she senses her dwelling place.

Climbing up the magnificent staircase a sculpture leads us to the floors of the museum. On the 1st and 2nd levels of the museum are exhibited works by famous international artists such as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Joan Miró, Jackson Pollock, Giorgio de Quirico, Marc Chagall, and others. Distinct impressions are left on us by Van Gogh's still life paintings, Rodin's notorious "Eternal Springtime" sculpture, a brass ballerina of Dega, small masterpieces by De Quirico and Pollock (whose works are rare, as he passed away early). At this point, it bears to be emphasized the wonderful lighting of the halls that also play a special role in managing to reflect all of the sensibility of the works of art.
 

The guided tour continues on to the 3rd and 4th floors, wherein 2 chambers exhibit works by great Greek artists, such as Yiannis Tsarouchis, Dimitris Mytaras, Alekos Fassianos, Giannis Moralis, Nikos Hagikyriakos – Gigas, Konstantinos Parthenis, Pavlos Samios, Sofia Vari, Michalis Tombros, George Rorris, and many others. It is also worth noting that the Goulandris Foundation pays a great deal of support to young Greek artists through scholarships for studies, as well as enriching the collection with new works.

Separate parts of the exhibition space consist of 2 more special rooms: In the first one, we can exclusively admire paper designs by Matisse, Braque, Picasso, and Balthus, which look amazing due to the great lighting of the space (as mentioned above). In the second room, we find an important collection of the Goulandris couple from French furniture with the signature of the most famous ébénistes, 18th Century art objects, as well as Chinese objects composed of jade or porcelain.

Following a downhill path to the first basement, visitors will encounter a 400 sqm area used for periodic exhibitions (for the permanent there are the upper floors). Continuing to the second basement, we find the museum's library consisting of 6,000 volumes of art books and a children's workshop. On the lower floor, there is a fully equipped amphitheater that can seat 190 people and includes a foyer and dressing room. It features a projection screen, a control room with an audio console, a translation cabin, and a small recording studio. The amphitheater is of a high architectural aesthetic and, once inside, creates a surreal environment.