While the relation between the Modern Style (Art Nouveau) and the discoveries of the Cretan Bronze Age at the beginning of the 20th century constitute an often-discussed, albeit controversial topic, it appears that questions of artistic reception and related phenomena during the 1920s and 1930s have so far received much less attention in scholarship. It is for this reason that this contribution aims to throw light on the interrelations between Art Deco, Cubism, and their related artistic trends on the one hand, and the archaeological activities in 'Minoan Crete' (excavations, artefacts, research, restorations, and reconstructions) on the other, during the time span between World Wars I and II. In contrast to the preceding period of Art Nouveau, in the 1920s and 1930s Aegean archaeologists and modern artists had a considerably lesser amount of appealing stimuli to off er one another. One relevant point for discussion is represented by the architectural 'reconstitutions' by Arthur Evans of his 'Palace of Minos' at Knossos during 1922-1930. Their character was already criticised from the start and, more recently, they have been invariably characterised as 'a tribute to Art Nouveau and Art Deco sensitivities', 'a good example of Art Deco architecture', not to mention 'the stoa of a Hellenistic agora' and 'the shrine of the fake'. Does the 'Palace of Minos' as created by Arthur Evans and his architects really constitute 'the vision of one man'? At first sight, such assessments appear highly obvious and even deserving. It is, nonetheless, imperative to check the validity of such criticism and Evans's own basis for the creation of this distinct image of Minoan palatial architecture. When compared, for example, with Akrotiri on Thera and other recent finds, Evans's vision turns out to be remarkably close to the original, authentic appearance of Minoan architecture.
