Popular paintings’ collection includes both secular and ecclesiastical works.
A self-taught painter from a village near Mytilini, on the island of Lesvos, and the best known representative of Greek folk painting is Theophilos Hadjimichail (1868 – 1934. The heroes of Greek history (Alexander the Great, Emperor Constantine Paleologus, the revolutionary fighters Kolokotronis and Markos Botsaris), European postcards, romances (Erotokritos and Arethusa, Romeo and Juliet), and the local folklore of Pelion and Lesvos were the main sources that inspired and supplied him with subject matter for his pictures, in which one finds all the creative qualities of folk painting. Theophilos lived in obscurity and poverty and wore the Greek foustanella (traditional pleated kilt) to the end of his days. His paintings, with their two-dimensional perception of space and perspective, and personal, uninhibited use of color, are accompanied by written comments that expand on and annotate the imagery.
