Greece’s National Gallery says a Greek lawmaker attacked four paintings in an exhibition, including one he had previously criticized as offensive on religious grounds.

In a shocking act of vandalism, a religious politician attacked four artworks on display in Greece's national museum, forcing it to close.

The Greek National Gallery unveiled photographs on Monday afternoon capturing the aftermath of an act of vandalism by Nikos Papadopoulos, a fundamentalist MP from the ultra-orthodox Niki party, who claimed the targeted artworks were offensive to Christianity.

Four works by artist Christoforos Katsadiotis were vandalised earlier this week, The National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum in Athens confirmed