[National Gallery]
The National Gallery in Athens has said it is stepping up security measures at the institution following the vandalism of several exhibited art works by a fundamentalist politician last week.
Last week, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, an MP with the religious extremist Niki party, stormed the gallery, shattered a display case and removed four religious-themed paintings by Christophoros Katsadiotis, denouncing them as blasphemous.
“Following the recent violent incident and its repercussions, and given the ongoing threats against the National Gallery–Alexandros Soutsos Museum, its exhibited works of art, employees and administration, we have decided, following consultation between Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis, to upgrade [our] security measures,” the institution said in a statement.
The gallery said it has already contacted the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA) with the aim of preparing a relevant security study.
It added that the art works that were attacked “are undergoing the necessary actions and procedures for their conservation and restoration” and that the “terms and conditions for their safe re-exhibition are being examined with the input of experts.”
The gallery said that it remains “unwaveringly committed to article 16 of the Constitution, which unconditionally guarantees freedom of artistic expression, to article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the settled case law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the case law of the country’s courts.”