The early days
Bulgaria will dazzle archaeology enthusiasts. Every major city has its own archaeological museum rich in Neolithic, Thracian, Hellenistic or Roman remains. The museum of Archaeology in Sofia is known for housing the richest collection of ancient objects in the Balkans. Its four rooms house treasures from prehistory to the Middle Ages, including a replica of the relief of the Madara horseman. Carved into the cliffs overlooking the village of Madara, it is the only sculpted monument of its kind in Europe. Symbolic of the greatness of the first Bulgarian kingdom, the scene, dated to the beginning of the 8th century B.C., shows a rider piercing a lion. The accompanying inscriptions in ancient Greek refer to political events involving Thrace and Byzantium.
From Greece, the Archaeological Museum of Varna preserves ceramics, along with objects dating back to the Roman period. In addition to Thracian, Slavic and Bulgarian relics, this museum holds a collection of Byzantine art that should not be missed.
Pious Images
The icons are with the frescoes the jewels of the orthodox art. Inherited from the Byzantine tradition, these colored and gilded paintings accompanied the prayer in order to connect the faithful to the celestial world. In the Middle Ages, these essential objects of Orthodox worship ensured the protection of the Bulgarian kingdom and of any monastery or family that housed it. Many of these images were kept in sacred places, adored by pilgrims.
The very first Bulgarian icons are part of an exceptional collection covering ten centuries of imagery, from the end of the 9th century to the 19th century. It can be seen in the museum in the crypt of the Alexander Nevsky Basilica located under the eponymous basilica. At the same time, 1,500 works created by the students of the Bulgarian School of Iconography are on display.
Bulgarian Renaissance
On the cultural level, the Bulgarian Renaissance marks the affirmation of the local identity. It is the Bulgarian revival which extends from the middle of the XVIIIth century to 1878 (date of the creation of the State of modern Bulgaria). The monasteries incarnate the spiritual resistance of Bulgaria in front of the Ottoman yoke. In connection with the monasteries of Russia, Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia, they served as a refuge for revolutionaries, including the famous Vassil Levski. Nowadays, they remain sites not to be missed. The most famous one stands at the foot of the forests. Rebuilt in 1834 after a fire, the Rila monastery symbolizes the affirmation of the Slavic cultural identity after centuries of occupation. On its 8,800 square meters, the exterior frescoes of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin are as much worth a visit as the history museum. Here you will find a unique collection of icons and woodcarvings, including Raphael's famous wooden cross. Skillfully carved over no less than twelve years, it contains no less than 104 religious scenes and 650 figures.
Inside the main church, a profusion of gold enhances the warm tones of the wall paintings. The iconostasis in particular stands out, as massive as it is gleaming. Scenes from the Apocalypse and the fall of Constantinople are two of the themes treated by Zahari Zograf (1810-1853). Representative of the Samokov School, his frescoes adorn the monasteries of Rila but also Troyan and Batchkovo. This artist broke with the traditional canons by integrating realistic elements. He thus laid the foundations of secular painting.
At the turn of the 20th century
The National Museum of Fine Arts in Sofia devotes a room to the three great masters of Bulgarian classical painting, Dechko Uzunov (1899-1986), Iliya Petrov (1903-1975) and Nenko Balkanski (1907-1977). Among the Bulgarian impressionists, Nikola Petrov (1881-1916), Yordan Kyuvliev (1877-1910), Tseno Todorov (1877-1953) and Boris Mitov (1891-1963) are represented. Let us also remember :
Vladimir Dimitrov (1882-1960). His nickname of "master" determines his place in the hierarchy of Bulgarian painters. "I want to paint the men in my paintings in such a way that you immediately understand that they are Bulgarians. Originally from the town of Kjoustendil, he created several series of portraits and paintings inspired by the peasants of his region. His women with Madonna faces, against a background of fruit trees, make his style immediately recognizable.
Zlatyu Boyadjiev (1903-1976) is one of the most famous Bulgarian painters. His portraits and landscapes of his country earned him the title of authentic painter. Although present in most Bulgarian museums, his works are mostly grouped in the Zlatyu Boyadjiev art gallery in Plovdiv. His artistic career is divided into two main periods, split by a stroke that struck him in 1951 and paralyzed his right side. The first period focuses on rural life. His figures and panoramas reproduced in a classical style are influenced by impressionism. In the second period, his sharp colors and complex compositions bring him closer to expressionism. His dramatic works, full of strangeness, are populated with unusual figures.
Bechkov and Christo
The Iliya Bechkov Art Gallery is named after the Bulgarian painter born in 1901. Bechkov's work revealed its complexity during an exhibition of his caricatures organized by his native town of Pleven. His drawings give an insight into the world of brothels and the petit bourgeois of his time. In 1934, after the coup d'état, his scathing caricatures were censored, which prompted him to depict the vilest impulses of his contemporaries. The gallery also holds over 6,000 works of art, including paintings, sketches, sculptures and icons. Bechkov's largest collection of works is complemented by 1,700 canvases and watercolors by Bulgarian and European painters divided into four sections: old masters (Rembrandt and a study of Algerian women by Delacroix), contemporary Bulgarian painting, local painters and plein air painting.
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, known as Christo, was born in Bulgaria in 1935. He studied at the Fine Arts School in Sofia before fleeing the communist regime in 1958. When he arrived in Paris, he frequented the New Realists, who advocated action shows, and met his companion and collaborator Jeanne-Claude. This marked the beginning of a joint career in which the couple enveloped monuments such as the Pont-Neuf (1985) and the Reichstag (1995). Naturalized American, Christo planned to wrap the Arc de Triomphe when he died.
The eye of two photographers
Based abroad, these two photographers return to be inspired by their native land. Mariyan Atasanov had fun transforming the buildings of Sofia into a giant Tetris. Now based in Texas, he takes a fresh look at his hometown in his series called "Urban Tetris". He has photographed large rental complexes in Sofia, then purified his images of all the interfering elements to keep only the construction that he cuts. He moves the pieces obtained by playing with their geometry. Placed on a blue sky background, they seem to float like the famous video game.
Born in central Bulgaria, Vladimir Vasilev is committed to portraying his compatriots in their diversity. His documentary series entitled "T(h)races" was born when his country joined the European Union. He was living in France at the time, but decided to travel to his native land and meet the population. This road-trip allowed him to "read traces of the Middle Ages that cannot be inscribed in the present of a European world that has become such because it wanted to erase the difference between yesterday and tomorrow. Several awards have crowned his work.
The department of photography and contemporary art of Sofia City Art Gallery is constantly enriched by donations from artists such as Boryana Rossa, Pravdolyub Ivanov, Lachezar Boyadzhiev, Sasho Stoitsov, Milko Pavlov, Nina Kovacheva and Valentin Stefanov, Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Nedko Solakov or Christo.
Nowadays
Bulgaria opened its first museum of contemporary art in 2011. The Arsenal takes its name from the former ammunition depot it occupies in the center of Sofia. Temporary exhibitions of international artists can be visited as well as its collection of works by Bulgarian artists, but also lithographs by Christo, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí or Pablo Picasso.
Sofia is a booming capital city and has been adorned with frescoes and graffiti in recent years. Although street art is not officially authorized, the city hall is gradually giving ground. It has already lent its electrical boxes to street artists Bozko and Massimo. Little by little, the public space is being filled with works of art to the delight of local residents who appreciate seeing some traces of the past brightened up. The walls of the city are also used as a means of expression for political protest. For Stanislav Belovsky, the public space is undoubtedly the best way to address the greatest number of people. Born in 1965, he only invests abandoned or degraded places. His stenciled caricatures of leaders invite passers-by to reflect.
Plovdiv has earned its title of European Capital of Culture for 2019. The city is not content to simply enhance its heritage but rolls out the red carpet for street art through various events. In 2019, fragments of the Berlin Wall painted by renowned artists were exposed around the old Roman stadium. Still in the south of the country, the small village of Staro Jelezare hosts the Street Art Village Festival. The villagers have the joy of seeing their portraits and frescos signed by international street artists. The fame of this festival now exceeds the borders of Europe.
