The Svetlin Rusev Donative Exhibition ( bg, Изложба-дарение „Светлин Русев“, ''Izlozhba-darenie „Svetlin Rusev“'') is a permanent art exhibition in

Pleven Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, including over 400 works of Bulgarian and foreign art donated by the noted Bulgarian artist and collector Svetlin Rusev. The exhibition occupies the three-storey historic building of the former

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

built in the 1900s and commissioned to

Nikola Lazarov Nikola Ivanov Lazarov ( bg, Никола Иванов Лазаров) (1 April 1870 – 14 June 1942) was a Bulgarian architect. Lazarov was born in the sub-Balkan town of Karlovo, then part of the Ottoman Empire (today in central Bulgaria). His ...

, who combined

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

Neo-Moorish Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

and Ottoman elements in its design. It served as the city's public baths until 1970, and has been home to the exhibition since 1984, when Rusev donated 322 works of his collection of paintings and sculptures, in 1999 adding 82 more. Works of the best-known Bulgarian artists from the early 20th century are exhibited on the first storey. These include

Zlatyu Boyadzhiev Zlatyu Georgiev Boyadzhiev (; 22 October 1903 – 2 February 1976) was a Bulgarian Painting, painter. He is known for his portraits and Landscape art, landscapes, depicting mainly the Old Town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, and vil ...

Tsanko Lavrenov Tsanko Lavrenov ( bg, Цанко Лавренов) was a Bulgarian painter and art critic born in 1896, deceased in 1978. He is one of the most prominent, influential and distinctive Bulgarian artists of the 20th century. A modernist influenced ...

Sirak Skitnik Sirak Skitnik was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian painter. He died in the year 1943 but his piece of Art called "Mountain View" was first auctioned at Rakursi Auction House in the year 2017. References

1943 deaths Year of birth missing {{Bulgari ...

Kiril Petrov The male name Kiril (or Кирил or Кирилл) is a common first name in the Orthodox Slavic world, in particular in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Russia. It is also well known in Greece but in different forms like Kyriakos. (Note that in m ...

Bencho Obreshkov Bencho Yordanov Obreshkov ( bg, Бенчо Йорданов Обрешков, 27 April 1899, Karnobat - 8 April 1970, Sofia) was a renowned Bulgarian painter. He graduated under Petko Klissurov and Ivan Angelov from the Sofia Academy of Fine Art ...

Dechko Uzunov Dechko Uzunov ( bg, Дечко Узунов) (February 22, 1899 – April 26, 1986) was a Bulgarian painter. He was born in Kazanluk and died in Sofia at the age of 87. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the ...

Vladimir Dimitrov Vladimir Dimitrov — Maystora ( bg, Владимир Димитров — Майстора) (1 February 1882 – 29 September 1960), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian Painting, painter, draughtsman and teacher. He is considered one of ...

, etc. The second storey mainly features contemporary Bulgarian painters, such as Nikola Manev, Vesa Vasileva, Encho Pironkov, Georgi Bozhilov, but also the oldest painting in the gallery, a 17th-century work by an unknown

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

author, as well as a painting by

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

artist Josef Bauer. On the third storey, occupying the building's towers, one can see not only a collection of works of leading Bulgarian engravers such as

Ilia Beshkov Ilia may refer to: Science and medicine *''Apatura ilia'' or lesser purple emperor, a butterfly *Ilium (bone) (plural: "ilia"), pelvic bone People * Ilia (name), numerous **Ilia II, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Places *Ilia, ...

, Vladimir Dimitrov and Sidoniya Atanasova, but also famous

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

an artists like

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808February 10, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second N ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

Renato Guttuso Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. His best-known works include ''Flight from Etna'' (1938–39), ''Crucifixion'' (1941) and ''La Vucciria'' (1974). Guttuso also designed for the theatre ( ...

and

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, as well as small sculptures of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

and

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

References

* * {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Bulgaria 1984 establishments in Bulgaria Moorish Revival architecture in Bulgaria Byzantine Revival architecture in Bulgaria Former public baths Art museums established in 1984 Museums in Pleven Province