Nikos Papadopoulos, a member of the small right-wing, conservative-religious Niki party, has criticized the artworks in The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum. The exhibition showcases artworks that depict religious icons and themes in a satirical manner.

The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum temporarily closed after the incident, where visitors were not allowed to enter.

Nikos Papadopoulos, who belongs to the small right-wing, conservative-religious Niki party, which holds 10 out of parliament’s 300 seats, was arrested for few hours on Monday and was later released.

The museum released a statement saying that Mr. Papadopoulos and another person forcibly removed the paintings that were part of an exhibition of Greek artists titled “The Allure of the Bizarre,” throwing them to the ground and breaking the glass in the frames.

According to reports, the exhibition features artworks that mocked religious icons and themes, which ran alongside a display of 80 engravings by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya.

Papadopoulos had previously stated in parliament that one of the Greek paintings was disrespectful to Orthodox Christianity, the dominant religion in Greece, claiming that it disrespected the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

“Four icons were brought down, blasphemous icons, and in two of those, the glass pane shattered, nothing else,” Papadopoulos stated after his release. He also mentioned that the works at the exhibition were disrespectful to the Virgin Mary, Saint George, and the archangels.

The gallery’s board of directors released a statement on Monday evening, firmly condemning every act of vandalism, violence, and censorship that infringes on the freedom of expression protected by the constitution.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/03/11/greek-lawmaker-attacks-offensive-paintings-in-athens-national-gallery