Among the different
art styles, it was the Baroque that has been one of the most influential in
creating the cultural landscape of what is now the Republic of Slovenia. It is
a time when, after the Middle Ages, we were once again witness to a great
artistic impulse. After the religious struggles and the Ottoman threat had
subsided, the path opened for the lands on the periphery of the empire to
flourish. Travelling artists, so characteristic of this period, brought to
Slovenian lands famous names and outstanding works of architecture, sculpture
and painting. Ljubljana also saw the number of building projects grow because
of ambitious art commissions. The driving force behind this cultural
renaissance were the aristocratic intellectuals, who yearned to be closer to
the court and to the artistic centres near and far, thus promoting culture in
all fields - the fine arts, music, theatre, etc.
More than
six decades after the last grand exhibition of Baroque art at the National
Gallery of Slovenia, we would like to once again present this period and its
art to both the general and the specialist public.
The
exhibition project is developed in cooperation with the three largest national
museums - the National Gallery of Slovenia, the National Museum of Slovenia and
the Museum of Architecture and Design; and in close cooperation with
educational and research institutions - the Department of Art History at the
Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, and the France Stele Institute for
Art History at the Research Centre at the SASA.
The main two
exhibitions will open at the National Gallery of Slovenia and the National
Museum of Slovenia. Other Slovenian museums will also participate in the
project with smaller parallel exhibitions, thus complementing the Baroque image
of Slovenia.
On the
first floor of the National Gallery's National Hall Palace, we will see the some
of the best painting and sculpture from the time of the Catholic renewal of the
early 17th century to the fading of the Baroque period a century and a half
later. This includes rich furnishings of churches and commissions by Church and
noble individuals, as well as Habsburg piety associated with the veneration of
individual saints, which will be presented with altar paintings and individual
sculptures. Important themes include the representation of the royal house and
the nobility of Carniola, Styria and Gorizia subjects of the ruler, as
evidenced by the portraits and various motifs in their collections. The
exhibition will also cover art, commissions and collections of the Istrian
coastal towns that were part of the Venetian Republic in the 17th and 18th
centuries.
10 April - 9
November 2025
National
Gallery of Slovenia
Cankarjeva
20
1000
Ljubljana