Book Description

The volume Religious Art and Painters in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean (15th–20th c.), In Memory of Eugenia Drakopoulou honors the memory of the archaeologist and art historian Eugenia Drakopoulou, Research Director of the Section of Neohellenic Research at the Institute of Historical Research / National Hellenic Research Foundation. A brief biographical note, a comprehensive bibliography of her work, and two essays outlining her personality, scholarly trajectory, and research perspective open the volume. Eleven studies, originating from the conference on the same theme organized by the National Hellenic Research Foundation on April 11, 2022, are authored by distinguished scientists who are experts in the field and delve into issues of religious painting in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean from the 15th to the 20th century, a field in which Eugenia Drakopoulou served throughout her professional life. The dynamic interplay between art and politics, the integration of artistic production into its economic, social, and cultural contexts as well as its contemporary and later receptions, the role of patrons and commissioning networks, the influence of theological and ideological currents, the processes of cultural interaction, and the continuities and ruptures of tradition form the principal axes of interpretation. The volume thus presents art both as an expression of the era and society that produced it and as a valuable historical document in its own right.

The volume includes contributions by: Jenny P. Albani, Melita Emmanouil, Maria Kazanaki-Lappa, Sophia Kalopisi-Verti, Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Aphrodite Kouria, Sofia Matthaiou, Ioanna Bitha, Ourania Polycandrioti, Athanasios Semoglou, Aggeliki Stavropoulou, Anastasia Tourta, Georgia Foukaneli, Nano Chadtzidakis, Maria Christina Chatziioannou.

Coordination: Ourania Polycandrioti, Maria Christina Chatziioannou

Summaries of texts in English: Damian Mac Con Uladh