Lytras' painting of "Glory" gifted by owner to Hellenes
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Dimitris Gertsos has gifted the painting "Glory" (Doxa) by Nikolaos Gyzis to the Greek nation offering it to the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Presiden Sakellaropoulou posted the following on her social media account:
As of today, the legendary work of Nikolaos Gyzis "Glory" belongs to all Greeks. With a gesture of high national symbolism, the holder of the painting, Mr. Dimitris Gertsos, presented it to the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic. Accompanying his donation with a few modest and thoughtful words - "I felt the desire not to" for Glory not to walk alone "in a house, but among the Greeks in the space of the highest institution of the country", he said characteristically - enriching the content of the citizen relationship with the institutions. His gesture does not only connect him with the long tradition of Greek donors to the nation. It makes him a guiding model as his offer combines moral generosity and social responsibility, patriotic ethos, and democratic sensitivity.
The "Glory" of Gyzis, since the time it was created, at the end of the 19th century, has been inscribed in the collective memory as a symbol of Greece that moves forward arrogantly and unconquerable, overcoming defeats or disasters. It is one of the most recognizable representations associated with the iconography of the Struggle for Independence, the shaping of the Greek national identity, the image of Greece as an idea. Majestic, white-clad, winged, she walks resolutely on the scorched earth under a heavy sky, driven by the vision of a future won by struggle. The symbolism of this transcendent, absolutely imposing, and dominant form becomes even stronger today, two hundred years after the revolution of 1821. Donation and anniversary coincide to emphasize the meaning of militancy, effort, indomitable will for a tomorrow based on the values that we were bequeathed by our heroic ancestors.
[The contribution of "Doxa" to the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic is an offer to society as a whole. This is the essence of the donor gesture and that is exactly how the Presidency perceives it and intends to use it. The work, which will be periodically exhibited in museums and galleries of the country, will be available to the public from March 3 at the Benaki Museum (Piraeus 138). It will be a leading exhibit of the large exhibition "1821 before and after", which will be hosted by the Museum until the end, around autumn.]
