Spanish artist Miro's exhibition launched in Athens

ATHENS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A major painting exhibition of the great late Catalan artist Joan Miro was launched here for the first time on Monday evening.

Caption Joan Miro's Le Coq is seen in this handout  photograph released by Christie's in London June 19, 2007. The painting was sold on June 18 for 6.6 million pounds (13.1 million U.S. dollars) -- a world record figure for the artist.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

Greek Under-Secretary of Culture and Tourism Angela Gerekou paid honor to "one of the fathers of modern art" and inaugurated the "Miro of Majorca" exhibition.

The exhibition, which will run to May 30 under the auspices of Greek President Karolos Papoulias and the Spanish embassy in Athens, "is a vivid example of the ministry's plan for the combination of major cultural events in Greece with the promotion of tourism," Gerekou said.

The artworks of Miro (1893-1983), which are displayed at the Hellenic Cosmos Art Hall, depict a most indicative sample of his contribution to Art. The exhibits are a loan from the Joan Miro Foundation of Majorca, where the artist spent the last period of his life.

A woman looks at a painting titled "Les Usines" by Fernand Leger, valued near 7 million U.S. dollars with a Joan Miro painting (L) and a 7 million U.S.  dollarsPablo Picasso painting, on display at Sotheby's auction house prior to upcoming sales featuring Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art, in New  York, May 3, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

"We are overwhelmed with the opportunity to host Miro's work, because for us this is a grand step toward the realization of our vision to create one of the biggest and most important new cultural centers across Europe," said Dimitris Efremoglou, head of the Hellenic Cosmos Art Hall.

Stressing a unique element in the whole function of the Hellenic Cosmos Art Hall exhibitions, Efremoglou invited all visitors to touch the special models of the paintings that accompany the original works.

The models, first created as a tool to help blind people come closer to this form of art, are mostly appreciated by children who are always curious to find out how a painting is created.