“Europe – The Fates at Work”, a painting by the late Heidelberg painter Wassili Lepanto (also Dr. phil. Vasilios Loukopoulos), has been unveiled at the European Parliament.
The artist had dedicated it to the European Parliament shortly before his death in 2018. The painting depicts his vision of a peaceful Europe and radiates calm and confidence across its 2 x 2.50m. To fulfil the artist’s last wish, Lepanto’s widow, Leena Ruuskanen-Lepanto, gave the painting as a personal gift to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, shortly before the Corona pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, the painting could only be transported from Nafpaktos, Wassili Lepanto’s Greek home, to Brussels in 2021 and has now been officially handed over and unveiled.
This was to be the last official date in parliamentary President David Sassoli’s calendar before the regular end of his term. It was the only painting he accepted as a gift.
His recent sudden death did not allow him to see it himself. But Lepanto’s picture in the European Parliament now also gives a permanent place to the memory of President Sassoli.
Participating in the handover were Mrs Leena Ruuskanen-Lepanto from Heidelberg, the artist’s widow, the 1st Vice-President of the European Parliament, Otmar Karas from Austria (EPP), the Secretary General of the Greens/EFA Group, Paraskevi Tsetsi from Greece, and MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, who had facilitated the handover and had a long friendship with the artist.
