Volim Te, Zagreb (Part 2) – ‘Moderna Galarija’

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Given that the tone of my last blog entry about Zagreb felt a little wistful, despite having a really nice time there, I thought it would be a bit of a shame if I didn’t publish a follow-up piece that feels more celebratory and cheerful at least. Or, more importantly, that I should publish a follow-up about one of the highlights of my visit to Zagreb earlier this year. For me my favourite moment was a visit to ‘Moderna Galerija’ (Zagreb’s National Museum of Modern Art). 


Even though I took quite a few photographs of the amazing artwork upon the gallery’s wall, I did neglect to take photo the MG’s exterior. Moderna Galerija is housed in the Revival style of Vranyczany Palace, built in the 1880s in the heart of Zagreb to a plan by Viennese architect Otto Hofner. According to the gallery’s website if offers more than “750 outstanding modern exhibits of painters, sculptors, medal-makers and multi-media artists embodying some of the high points of the Croatian fine arts from the 19th to the 21st century.”

I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but the set-up of the MG goes against convention in that it is set-up like a dossier rather than being chronologically ordered. This may sound erratic, but it works beautifully concluding with the master works of contemporary artists who have both contributed to Croatian art scene and enriched recent production in European art as a whole as well. All of Croatia’s important phenomena, movements and artists that built the modern national art history profile were on display here.



To be honest I had no idea who these artists were, but perhaps their anonymity is what gave these artists and paintings a mystique. Each work of art left me asking the question, “Who is this artist? What’s their story? How did they arrive at being so brilliant and creative?” There is always something that feels special when I visit an National Gallery of Art. You come away feeling just that little bit more happier and cheerful about the world around you. There are people among us who create this stuff. But what the MG was also successful in doing was to allow me to understand Croatia’s artistic origins, development and contemporary achievements. And it doesn’t stop there either; there is always an ongoing supplementation of the collections with new acquisitions. Enjoy the photos!
                                                 
     
                                                    







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