A Greek lawmaker attacked four paintings on Monday at the National Gallery in Athens, claiming they were offensive to Orthodox Christianity. Nikolaos Papadopoulos, a member of the small right-wing, ultra-religious Niki party, was detained by police for several hours before being released. The attacked artworks were part of an exhibition titled “The Allure of the Bizarre,” which includes works that caricature religious icons and themes.
Papadopoulos and an accomplice threw the paintings to the floor, shattering the glass in their frames. The National Gallery shut down after the incident, turning away visitors. The museum’s board of directors issued a statement condemning the vandalism, saying it “unreservedly condemn(s) every act of vandalism, violence, and censorship which violate the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.”
Papadopoulos had previously criticized one of the paintings in parliament, asserting that it insulted the Virgin Mary and Christ.
The Culture Ministry responded that it “never engages in acts of censorship.”
After his release, Papadopoulos told reporters, “I took down four icons, four blasphemous icons, and in two of those…
Papadopoulos destroys controversial religious art
the glass pane broke, nothing else.” He claimed the works “insult the Virgin Mary, St. George…
the archangels that we in our homes were taught to worship and respect.”
The damaged artworks, all by artist Christoforos Katsadiotis, included three pieces from his “Icon” series and “Saint Christopher” (2020). Katsadiotis, a Paris-based artist, defended his work as a “poetic” expression not intended to offend. Papadopoulos, whose Niki party holds 10 of the 300 seats in parliament, revealed he had written to the museum’s director asking for the works to be removed.
When the director was unavailable, he visited the exhibition and attacked the artworks. The National Gallery released photographs of the vandalized paintings on Monday afternoon. The exhibition featuring the works runs until September 30, 2025, alongside a display of Francisco Goya’s engravings exploring similar themes.