Upload
others
View
4
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
GALLERY TOUR
Column Hall
Column Hall is assumed to be a former area of the sall
terrena, which served for pleasant refreshments in hot
summer days in the Baroque period. Count John Pálfi
had it rebuilt into a pillared hall at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Two large statues
belong to the original layout - the king Saul (from 1882) and Sardanapal (from 1880),
sculptured in white carrera marble by English sculptor Waldo Thomas Story. The statues
remained in their original position despite being sold after the death of Count John Pálfi,
because the new owner could not carry them without damaging the wall with tracery windows
(Sardanapal is the Greek name of the last Assyrian king Asshurbanipal who ruled
approximately from 668 to 630 BC; Saul was Israel's first king around 1030-1010 BC.)
Four chest chairs made by Colli brothers for the Count at the end of the 19th century complete
the original design.
Castle glyptotheque
V umelecko- represents the most frequently
mentioned sculptor in the collections Jozef
Damko (1872-1955) from Nitrianske
Pravno. He is almost unknown in Slovakia, even though he was of European importance.
Even though he spent most of his life in Budapest, his work still showed connection with
Slovakia, his native region, his parents and friends. There are two basic counterparts - official
orders and creative, private and relaxed character which can be seen in realistic portraits and
genre sculpture. Work of other sculptors: Š. Šovánka, F. Klugh, Z. Štróbl, K.C. Zumbusch, V.
Badura.
Marble stairs
were originally part of the cannon bastion that was used to defend invaders from the elevated
hillside of the Little Magura. The picturesque tower with staircase was built by Count Paul
Pálfi during the Baroque reconstruction. The current appearance with a broken massive
marble staircase dates to the last neo-Gothic reconstruction which was realized by Count John
Pálfi. Four reliefs sculptured out of white carrera marble which are set in the walls belong to
the original property of the last count.
There are two reliefs (1883) with ancient motifs chariot races in the upper part made by
English sculptor Waldo Story. In the space under the staircase there are two other reliefs with
portraits of young women (1859) by Italian sculptor Giovanni Pandiani. Above one of them is
a text in the Milan dialect which reads: "The breeze - which laurels and golden hair - is so
compelling that it gathers in us a gust, and steals the souls of our bodies with the power of
beauty." The text is a snippet of Sonnet # 26, Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarca.
Hunyady hall
is the largest hall situated in the wing that was built by the Thurzo family at the turn of the
16th and 17th century. Count Paul Palfi used the renaissance foundation and rebuilt the hall
over two floors during the Baroque reconstruction of the castle. The hall has a unique ceiling
construction system consisting of a suspended wooden vault. The hall underwent a minor
reconstruction at the end of the 19th century. It is dominated by a unique Baroque chandelier
from the mid-18th century, coming from the manor house in Tovarníky. There are 2 layers,
each with ten arms and 110 lamps. There is a large original tapestry depicting a biblical theme
from the Old Testament (Joseph and his brothers). A large Baroque table dating to the 18th
century is the original property of the last owner. Other furniture dates to the second half of
the 19th century.
There are clocks, vases, candlesticks, bowls, plates, cups, teapots made out of porcelain,
faience, majolica, stoneware and glass dating to the 16th till 19th centuries. The table clock
was made in Prague around 1830.
The founders of Slovak Modernism from the collections of the Bojnice
The layout of art works in the Hunyady Hall is atypical, following new trends. It is not subject
to the traditional course of history depicting authors beginning from the oldest to the
youngest, but creates new contexts and unexpected connections between historical images and
Slovak modernism.
Maximilian Schurmann (1890-1960) adopted the impressionist principles in his painting
from Monet in Paris. He spent years in a monastery in the French town of Espalion near
Avignon, where he painted many of his works: A View of Espalion, 1915, oil, canvas. He
returned to Slovakia after the world but went back to Paris (1920-1925) where he created the
work of Luxembourg Garden, 1922, oil, canvas.
In the modern era, many artists travelled through Slovakia, seeking to capture a non-
industrialized landscape, its people and its mythos.
Martin Benka (1888-1971) deserves a place in the history because of impressive and
expressive power in his paintings. He arranged natural plans into several spatial layers in a
row. Since the 1930s, heroic figures have come to the forefront, similar to painting Near
Černová - Liptov, 1932, oil, cardboard.
Jaroslav Augusta (1878-1970) approached the theme of folklore in his own way. His
characters are not only a kind of singing folklore, but they capture the real, often not easy
existence of people in the Slovak countryside. He often used ethnographically true and correct
social realism in figural composition. Gypsy Madonna, 1910, oil, canvas.
Milos Alexander Bazovsky (1899-1968) was influenced by traveling through Slovakia
(Liptov, Orava, Detva, etc.), together with his companions - Zolo Palugyay and Janko Alexy.
Unlike Benka, they perceived the national myth not as a faithful reflection of the rural
landscape, but as a program abstract. Composed according to art, not literary rules. He uses
earthy colors, he focuses on landscape motifs. Párnica, 1954, oil, canvas, Shepherd 1955,
tempera, cardboard, Horse and Birds, 1947, oil, cardboard.
Ľudovít Fulla (1902-1980) was inspired by traditional folk colors, red, yellow and blue. He
found his inspiration in a simple rural life of the Slovak country. During his studies in Prague,
he met Mikuláš Galanda, who became his friend and co-worker. Together they defended
modern painting in Slovakia, issued a manifesto "Private Letters of Fulla and Galanda". Girl
from Sečovce, 1951, oil, canvas.
Imro Weiner-Kráľ (1901-1978) remains an exclusive surrealist solitaire without
contemporaries or followers. His interest was based on the iconographically clearly defined
Slovak folk genre. He emphasizes the classic lyric, characterized by skeptical irony. In his
works of civilian-sensual painting, surrealism and poetism we find strong social symbolism.
Young Mother, 1950-1963, oil, canvas.
Generation 1909 is known as the post-war art group that was linked by a common year of
birth, 1909. The artists were influenced by the Parisian avant-garde, either indirectly or
directly. They were also characterized by a high level of engagement. One of them was Julius
Nemčík (1909-1986), who was influenced by his colleague Cyprián Majerník and was
devoted to social, and war issues. Since the 1960s his work has been dominated by landscape
painting. Landscape, 1959, oil, canvas. Another representative was Ján Mudroch (1909-1968).
He was a teacher at the School of Arts and Crafts in Bratislava in 1938-1939. He taught
drawing and painting at the department of the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava from
1939 to 1941. After the foundation of the College of Fine Arts (1949) he became the first
rector, then head of the figural painting department. He focused mainly on portraiture, figural
painting and still life. Portrait of Wife, 1940-1950, oil, cardboard, Woman in Hat, 1940, oil,
canvas.
After 1950, Peter Matejka (1913-1972) was head the studio of monumental painting at the
Academy of Fine Arts and Design. Its creation is characterized by a reduction of shapes and
simplified compositions of elements with a concentration on the central theme. There is a
shift in his work towards poetization and imagination during his forties Bouquet, 1950-1956,
oil, cardboard. Later on, the art scene was taken by Mudroch's pupils. They no longer felt the
need to rely on the domestic tradition of national expression.
Ladislav Guderna (1921-1999) was a Mudroch`s pupil. He was at first influenced by
Picasso's late cubism and his conflict with the black contour. Guderna wanted to point out not
only the factual analysis of the optical properties of the object being shown, but also its
significance. The expressiveness is internal Still life with oranges, 1955, tempera, paper. After
1956 he returned to Surrealism, Girl with a Cube, 1956, oil, canvas. The horizontally
developed figural composition War, 1959, oil, paper, is composed of several, independent
motifs, full of unexpected encounters of meaning, parables and dreamy metaphors. Guderna
also contributed to the renewal of surreal tendencies in Slovak painting.
Ernest Špitz (1927-1960) also studied at the newly founded Mudroch College of Fine Arts.
In the early days of his work, he used the early works of P. Picasso and P. Cézanne as a
starting point, which can be recognized by rich color in expressive figural compositions. He
focused on circus motifs, acts, genre and figural motifs Dancer on the Rope, 1957, tempera,
paper, In the Dressing Room, 1956, tempera, paper.
Another of Mudroch's students was Rudolf Krivoš (1933-). Inspired by synthetic cubism, he
creates expressively deformed figures. The shapes that come to the core are precisely
arranged in a figural composition, distinguished by different structures. Monochrome earthy,
red as well as dark-red colors indicate closeness to nature. After 1962 Krivoš leaves a
constructively tuned shape and inclines to the intentions of civilism Breastfeeding Woman,
1961, oil canvas, Spartakiada, 1960, oil canvas.
The extensive painting and drawing by Milan Laluha (1930-2013) represents a natural link
to the theme of the Slovak village, which he enriched with a new meaning by his own poetics.
It captures a working person, but the painter's emphasis is placed on a line that is highlighted
Tree, 1960..1962, oil, canvas, Bags, 1959, oil, cardboard.
The clubrooms
The clubrooms were built during the construction of the Hunyady hall. They originally served
as guest rooms. Until recently, they were used for technical, social and commercial purposes.
(Works of artists were brought here because, for a short time, the castle was the seat of the
Regional Gallery of Nitra)
Art of Upper Nitra
First room
First room contains the works of art representing the
Slovak scene of the 20th century. The artists were
connected to this region in some way, for example
studies, family, government contracts for the mines or
just capturing the beauty of the local nature. We can
find here the works of prominent representatives of the
Slovak modernism: (a garden theme by Janko Alexy, Ján Mudroch with a grim image of the
Miners of Handlova, Maximilian Schurmann, who grew up in Handlova, Peter Romaňák
worked in Handlová and Nováky from 1960 to 1961. Edita Ambrušová painted the Church of
St. Nicholas in the village of Poruba, dating to the 14th century).
Second room
Second room is dedicated to the work of Jozef Fedora, who was a significant personality of
artistic and cultural life with nationwide influence. Part of the presented works represents a
cycle of watercolors depicting villages and towns in the territory of Upper Nitra. Another
artist captured his experiences of France in a similar way. There is a self-portrait of Jozef
Fedora which was painted in 1948. He devoted himself to drawing, graphics, watercolor
painting, tempera and oil painting. Fedor's works are complemented by landscape paintings
by painters from the region of Upper Nitra (Vladimír Vestenický, Imrich Vysočan and
Vojtech Petrovics).
Third room
shows the work of younger generation of artists born around 1930. Alojz Petráš who was born
and lived in Prievidza was a special representative. His paintings are dynamic, abstract, with
emotional colors. Magdaléna Štrompachová, as one of the two female painters in this
exhibition, brought lyricism and poetism into her work focusing on love and motherhood. She
drew inspiration not only from literary sources but also from her own life. Together with her
husband, also academic painter Ľudovít Štrompach, they founded an art department at the
elementary art school in Prievidza.
Castle chapel
Castle chapel was built on the fortification bastion. It
was completed and consecrated in the middle of the
17th century by Countess Francis Khuen Pálfi. The
chapel was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During the last neo-gothic reconstruction
two scenes from the life of St. John of Capistrano were added to it and it was dedicated to
him. The central object of the chapel is known as the Bojnice Altar. It contains panel
paintings by Italian master Nardo di Cione dating to the 14th century. The central motive is
the Virgin Mary with Jesus surrounded by figures of saints. It is an important piece of art
from the original collections of Count John Pálfi. There is also a unique installation of the
altar boards, which are protected in a modern way by a glass box with gallery lighting and
own air conditioning.
There are four saints - on the left there are St. Nicholas and St. Paul, on the right the
Hungarian kings – St. Ladislaus and St. Stephen. There are two scenes from the life of Saint
Elizabeth of Thuringia under the emporium on the right and left.
Castle Apartments
Castle apartments are residential areas that were added
to the original defensive walls in the Baroque period.
The long corridor was originally a communication
space between the first and the second courtyard. The rooms which are accessible from this
corridor are now furnished with furniture from the 19th century and accompanied by a rich
gallery of paintings dating to the 19th and 20th century.
The permanent exhibition in the apartments has been created exclusively from the
collections of the Slovak National Bojnice Museum. It aims to outline the basic tendencies of
Central European painting of the 19th century with an overlap until the 1930s. The main
works of the exposition are paintings by artists who belonged to the period of German (Anton
Schlesinger), Austrian (Raimund Vichera), Hungarian (József Rippl-Rónai), Czech (Bedřich
Kavánek) and Slovak (Jozef Czauczik) art history. We present works of art depicting
secessional, classical, impressionist and realistic epochs from the stylistic streams point of
view at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century.
The influence of symbolism and
secession manifests itself mainly
in mythological themes. The
outdoor painting became more
luministic and more
impressionistic. The popular
themes were portrait, landscape,
still life and genre painting.
However, the predominant artistic
theme was the portrait, which was
supposed to capture a true version
of the reality. The portrait moved
away from presentation purposes,
and served as a memory for the
offspring. Pocket formats became very popular. The elements of luminism and the
impressionist tendencies of this period were mainly applied in landscape painting.
Neo-Renaissance bedroom
Neo-renaissance bedroom contains the furniture set dating to the second half of the 19th
century. Cabinets, bed ends and bedside tables are decorated with carvings using Renaissance
elements. The dominant elements in the decoration of all pieces of furniture are rectangular
mirrors with the motif of "beschlägwerk" (rewound ornament), in the middle of which are
rosettes in the form of acanthus leaves.
Dining room
Dining room`s furniture was made in the late
19th and early 20th century. There are some
elements in the decoration that originated in
Great Britain in the 18th century. These are
mainly bent legs on chairs, tables, showcases
and sideboards. The surface of the individual
furniture pieces is decorated with geometric
inlay in form of stripes and the middle the
surface is filled with veneer cut from tree roots,
also called root veneer.
Pink salon
Pink salon has a neo-baroque sofa with a table made in the second half of the 19th century.
There are baroque elements, like shells and volutes in the wood decoration. The artistic
presentation is completed with classical chairs.
Golden salon
Golden salon contains furniture and a large mirror, dating to the second period of Rococo
(first half of the 19th century). The decoration is dominated by rococo ornaments, shells,
grilles, volutes and acanthus leaves. There is also a sideboard from the end of the 18th
century, which in addition to carving is also decorated with a painting on the door. The rococo
scene depicts a lady and a gentleman sitting on a bench under a tree.
The richly carved cupboard
clock shows architectural
elements of
Renaissance (open
niche, columns
with heels and
heads, diamond cuts
and balustrade). The clock is
engraved: M. E. Tulisky, a watchmaker in
Banská Bystrica in the 19th century.
Seccession bedroom
Secession bedroom`s furniture represents complete bedroom furnishings at the turn of the
19th and 20th century. The individual pieces have carved motifs of flowers and pomegranate.
The dressing table has a mirror and ceramic tiles. Decorative brass fittings have plant motifs.
We would like to thank you for coming and look forward to seeing you again!