The course examines key issues related to: (a) the processes of “secessions” and their role in liberating the arts from the control of academies and various ecclesiastical or secular authorities; (b) the legacy of the Munich School and the renewal of Greek art through the professors of the School of Fine Arts, members of the “Greek Artistic Company” and the “Association of Greek Artists”; (c) the aesthetics of Symbolism and its parallel manifestations in Germany and Greece at the turn of the century; (d) Expressionism and its establishment by the artistic groups Die Brücke (“The Bridge”) and Der Blaue Reiter; (e) the reception of Impressionism and Expressionism in Greece during the early decades of the 20th century; and (f) the Generation of the 1930s and the quest for “Greekness” as a means of expression and self-understanding among its representatives.

After the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• understand the parallel formation of Greek and German artistic identities from the late 19th century to the Interwar period, with reference to the diffusion of international Modernism in the work of Greek and German artists; 
• recognize elements drawn from the historical trajectory and cultural tradition of each country.