The National Gallery of Slovenia Displays its Recent Acquisitions

Written by Carlos Valdermayer Tuesday, 15 November 2011 23:14

Ljubljana, Slovenia.- The National Gallery of Slovenia is proud to present a special exhibition highlighting additions to its collections made between 2001 and 2010. "New Acquisitions 2001-2010" is on view at the museum through February 12th. The art fund of the National Gallery of Slovenia comprises three collections: the collection of paintings, the collection of sculptures and the collection of works on paper. Since its establishment in 1918, one of the central and perhaps most important concerns of the National Gallery of Slovenia has been collecting artworks and updating its existing collections with purchases, gifts and bequests. During the initial decades, notices of new acquisitions were published in the yearly reports of the Art History Journal (Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino). When this practice fell into disuse, special exhibitions and catalogues took its place, the first such being held in 1976. This latest exhibition continues in the same vein.

The art fund alone acquired numerous works during the period covered by this exhibition, the balance sheet for the period between 2001 and 2010 would include 121 paintings, 15 sculptures, and 1139 works on paper. The new acquisitions cover works dating from the 17th century and through different periods up to and including the 20th century. In the last two years the museum has had to limit and adapt our collection policy, particularly in terms of cost, due to the increasingly modest state subsidies. However, there are more and more private donors, artists and collectors that are passing the ownership and management of their oeuvres or collections over to the National Gallery of Slovenia, thus allowing a more complete presentation of artistic development. Donations make up more than two-thirds of the newly acquired works in the period between 2001 and 2010.


The exhibition, can only represent a fraction of the works acquired in the last decade. From the extensive material, 110 artworks were selected for the show. These were not only assessed according to quality and significance, but also their material condition, as some are still waiting to be restored. Several works have already been studied by experts, published and exhibited and therefore were excluded. The entire print oeuvre of Marjan Pogacnik was exhibited in 2001, the donated prints of Bojan Kovacic were exhibited in 2011, many individual artworks were shown to the public in the 'Slovene Impressionists and Their Time' exhibition in 2008, and some may be viewed in the permanent collections display. The exhibition is very diverse, and has been organized by subject and aesthetic considerations, its catalogue has been conceived encyclopaedically.

Narodna galerija (National Gallery of Slovenia) is the main art museum in Slovenia containing the largest visual arts collection from the late medieval period to the early twentieth century. The National Gallery Society was founded in 1918, although the endeavors to found a home for Slovene art (an "acropolis" as it was named on the founding) had already been initiated towards the end of the 19th century. The gallery opened amidst great ceremony on June 22nd 1933. On 1 July 1946, the National Gallery was taken under the charge of the People's Republic of Slovenia and became a state gallery with firmer economic and organizational foundations. Despite the pressure on space caused by the increasing number of exhibitions, and the ever greater overstocking of the depots, the gallery tirelessly continued with its established programme. When in 1951 the Moderna galerija (Museum of Modern Art) opened its permanent collection, supplemented by the fund from the National Gallery, both institutions were being directed by Dr. Karl Dobida, and the exhibitions there were also being set up by curators from the National Gallery. Numerous further exhibitions were to follow up to the 50th anniversary of the National Gallery and the grand jubilee, in 1968, was celebrated by opening of the exhibition Umetnost XVII. stoletja na Slovenskem (Art of the XVII. Century in Slovene lands), which comprised painting, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, tombstones, relief, graphics and artisanal art. The collection of foreign masters again saw the light of day with the exhibition of 1993, under the title Evropski slikarji III (European Painters III). The gallery ceremonially opened this long-awaited exhibition in the presence of the world-renowned expert and (together with Dr. Ksenija Rozman) co-author of the exhibition, Frederico Zeri. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.ng-slo.si

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