The Art pavillion in Zagreb ( hr, Umjetnički paviljon u Zagrebu) is an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

in Zagreb, Croatia. The pavilion is located on the Lenuci Horseshoe, Lower town area of the city, south of Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square, on the northern side of the King Tomislav Square which flanks the Zagreb Central Station. Established in 1898, it is the oldest gallery in the Southeast Europe and the only purpose-built gallery in Zagreb designed specifically to accommodate large scale exhibitions.

History

The idea of creating the gallery was first put forward by Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac in the spring of 1895. In May 1896 a Millennium Exhibition was to be held in Budapest, celebrating 1,000 years of Hungarian statehood, and artists from what was then

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

were invited to attend. Urged by Bukovac, Croatian artists decided to present their works in a purpose-built Pavilion, constructed around a prefabricated iron skeleton so that it could easily be shipped to Zagreb after the exhibition. The Budapest Pavilion was designed by Hungarian architects

Flóris Korb Flóris Korb (born as Flóris Nándor Korb, Kecskemét, 7 April 1860 – Budapest, 16 September 1930) was a Hungarian architect.

and Kálmán Giergl and was constructed by the Danubius building company. After the exhibition had ended, the building's skeleton was transported to Zagreb and Austrian architects Fellner & Helmer (who were at the time active in Zagreb, and had earlier designed the Croatian National Theatre building) were hired to design a new version of the building based on the iron skeleton, while the

Hönigsberg & Deutsch Hönigsberg & Deutsch was an architecture studio and construction company formed in Zagreb by architects Leo Hönigsberg and Julio Deutsch, active between 1889 and 1911. They produced over 90 known works in the Lower Town area of Zagreb, built ...

building company was contracted to perform the actual construction. The building's exterior was decorated with sculptures in the academic art style — the eastern facade displays busts of three Italian Renaissance painters — Giulio Clovio (Julije Klović), Andrea Schiavone (Andrija Medulić) and Vittore Carpaccio, and the western facade has busts of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, Raphael and Titian. The construction went on for two years between 1897 and 1898 and the Pavilion was officially inaugurated on 15 December 1898 with a large exhibition showcasing works of local artists called Croatian Salon ( hr, Hrvatski salon). The exhibition was very popular and attracted some 10,000 visitors, at a time when Zagreb had a total population of 60,000. The gallery has a total display area of 600 m² and does not have a permanent display as it specialises in one-off solo and group exhibitions representing notable

oeuvre Oeuvre(s) or Œuvre(s) may refer to: * A work of art; or, more commonly, the body of work of a creator Books * ''L'Œuvre'', a novel by Émile Zola * ''Œuvres'', a work by Emil Cioran * ''Œuvres'', a work by Auguste Brizeux * ''Oeuvres'', a wor ...

s and art movements from all periods and styles, with works by both Croatian and foreign artists. Throughout its history the gallery organised around 700 exhibitions with artists ranging from the Earth Group collective to

George Grosz George Grosz (; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objec ...

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

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 ...

, Andy Warhol, Mimmo Rotella,

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

and many others. In recent years it featured retrospective exhibitions of artists such as Milivoj Uzelac,

Gilles Aillaud Gilles Aillaud (1928 in Paris – 24 March 2005 in Paris) was an internationally known French painter, set decorator, and scenographer A scenographer or production designer, develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gam ...

, Edo Kovačević, Gerhard Richter,

Vilko Gecan Vilko Gecan (16 June 1894 – 25 June 1973) was a Croatian painter, influential in the Zagreb modern art scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He is best known for his expressionist paintings and drawings, and for his contributions to the local avantgarde ...

, Dušan Džamonja, Vlaho Bukovac,

Boris Demur Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...

, Anto Jerković,

Marijan Trepše Marijan Trepše (25 March 1887 – 4 October 1964) was a Croatian painter, graphic artist and set designer, considered to be one of the key figures in Croatian art in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919 the seventh exhibition of the Sprin ...

, Bela Csikos Sesia, Nasta Rojc and group exhibitions which featured works of contemporary artists such as Santiago Sierra and

Boris Mikhailov Boris Mikhailov may refer to: * Boris Mikhailov (Comintern), representative of the Communist International to the US in 1929-30 * Boris Mikhailov (photographer) (born 1938), fine art photographer * Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey) (born 1944), former ...

, as well as 19th-century artists such as Karl von Piloty,

Nikolaos Gyzis Nikolaos Gyzis ( el, Νικόλαος Γύζης ; german: Nikolaus Gysis; 1 March 1842 – 4 January 1901) was considered one of Greece's most important 19th century painters. He was most famous for his work '' Eros and the Painter'', his first ...

, Gabriel von Max and Franz Stuck. In 2006, the glass roof of the Pavilion was renovated and the lighting system was replaced. The renovation works continued for seven years and were completed in 2013. In 2020, the Pavilion was damaged by a strong earthquake. As of 2021, it remains closed to visitors.

References

External links

*— {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Zagreb Donji grad, Zagreb Fellner & Helmer buildings Hönigsberg & Deutsch buildings Art galleries established in 1898 Buildings and structures completed in 1898 Cultural infrastructure completed in 1898 1898 establishments in Croatia 1898 establishments in Austria-Hungary Art Nouveau architecture in Zagreb Art Nouveau museum buildings Beaux-Arts architecture Neoclassical architecture in Croatia