exhibition of Bulgarian Revival prints from private collections

31 May – 6 June 2021

Vernissage: May 31 (Monday), from 4 p.m until 7 p.m.

The beginning of graphic art in today’s Bulgarian lands, according to the researchers, it should be sought in the art of the print from the first half of the 19th century. Wood engraving is the first known graphic technique, generally used to create a printed work on paper. The printed one an image from a wooden printing form is called a woodcut. This summarizing one term expresses the essence of modern technological interpretation on wood and literally means an image created on a wooden form. The printed one form is a wooden block made according to the specified technology. IN depending on the making of the printing form, wood engraving is classified into two sections – “longitudinal” and “shutter”.

According to one of the theses, as well as other graphic techniques, intaglio engraving entered Bulgaria in the 19th century. The beginning was laid with engravings made in Vienna. Father Hristofor Zhefarovich’s “Stematography” is the first known book of secular content, illustrated with copper engravings, the work of Zhefarovich and Thomas Mesmer. Georgi Stoyanovich, a painter, originally from Svishtov, is the author of the oldest signed and dated, self-distributed intaglio engraving made by a Bulgarian – “Panoramic view of the Dechan Monastery with its iconic, representative, residential and commercial buildings and their immediate surroundings”.

Other studies indicate that the first prints appeared in our country at the beginning of the 19th century as a kind of “travel souvenir” from pilgrimage trips to Mount Athos and the Holy Land. This kind of “souvenir” of the stamp was also brought to the Bulgarian monastery centers, where stamp studios were created. In them, skilled monks became the first graphic artists and created numerous prints that pilgrims from different parts of the world took home. Given the religious theme of the print, as well as its circulation, it stands out as a special object of art, the study of which is still accompanied by many difficulties in terms of determining the origin, dating, authorship, and restoration. But it is also a desirable collector’s item that can be seen in many private collections.

In the current exhibition, the public has the opportunity to meet with some interesting examples of the printing art in our country from the 19th century, which are also a kind of testimony about the attitude of the then society towards the world of images. Holy, focused exclusively on the religious.

In an attempt for a more substantial penetration into the art of Bulgarian a revival print is organized and a block of activities in which everyone will can be included on Saturday, June 5 at 10 a.m. in the “Grafikart” gallery. We’ll start with work studio of Emanuela Kovacs, who will tell us about the materials and the engraving techniques, and finally the restorer Kristina Beleva will introduce us to the problems of restoration of such works. And in conclusion – the art critic Ramona Dimova will tell us about the historical development of the print in our country, for the topics and the specifics, for the authors and the studios.

The exhibition is realized by the “Grafikart” gallery and is part of the educational project “The art of graphics – traditions and modernity”, financed by the Ministry of Culture.

Events are held in compliance with all anti-epidemic measures and controlled access.