Art and Politics

This book focuses on the artistic creation, overall activity, presence and integration of Greek artists (painters and sculptors) who migrated to Paris in 1945 either on a French Government scholarship or privately, for the time that each of them remained in the French capital. The political, social and artistic environment of Greece, as a country of emigration, and France, as a host country, are explored, demonstrating that the Greek artistic diaspora is a cultural diaspora. The development of art in Europe and particularly in Paris after the Second World War is also outlined. For the purposes of this study, I researched the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France (Ministčre des Affaires Étrangčres - Archives Diplomatiques) in La Courneuve of Paris. The archival material for 1945 and 1946 presented regards the cultural relations between Greece and France, the institution of the scholarships, as well as the chronicle of the journey of the fellows from boarding the ship Mataroa until their arrival in the French capital.