Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

National Gallery / The Palace
The National Gallery owns one of the most appreciable and representative collections of artworks by Lika Yanko (1928–2001). This became possible thanks to the donation gesture the artist made while still living. Whereas the two extensive exhibitions, held in 2002 and 2011, were based on the most comprehensive chronology possible, the current exhibition focuses attention on issues of her early oeuvre.
In choosing the title, ‘Journey to the Image’, we saw an opportunity to verbalise the two major threads in the exhibition. The first relates to the 1960s, the decade these artworks were produced. Lika Yanko was at the beginning of her career, and it was through the images of the object world that she sought her own truth about art. The second line traces the artist’s ‘journey’ into herself, where she was not alone. Spontaneously, rather like a playful act, or fully consciously as a quiet rebellion against the norms of official art, a small informal group of female artists launched into annual creative trips in the Rhodope Mountains, the environs of Melnik, Karlanovo, and other places. The party included Vanya Decheva, Dora Kancheva, Olga Valnarova, Mimi Veselinova, Kostadinka Tsvetkova, and Zheni Mehandzhiyska… We have no first-hand evidence of a common aesthetic platform of theirs, but, standing before their pictorial works, we may form, with a great deal of certainty, an impression of the moods that had overwhelmed them, and of the sources they followed.
We say all this clearly aware of the broadest outline of a problem in the history of Bulgarian art that has so far been only sketched out, without being supported by the necessary visualisation and professional commentary.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive on this topic.
It only outlines the general silhouettes of names, events and artistic facts that have not been studied or analysed in detail. They inhabit those border or extreme zones removed from the official line, where absence, silence and insufficiency still dominate, but without them, the overall picture of Bulgarian art history will not be full and complete.
Curated by Nikolay Ushtavaliiski and Iva Veleva.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

National Gallery / The Palace
The National Gallery owns one of the most appreciable and representative collections of artworks by Lika Yanko (1928–2001). This became possible thanks to the donation gesture the artist made while still living. Whereas the two extensive exhibitions, held in 2002 and 2011, were based on the most comprehensive chronology possible, the current exhibition focuses attention on issues of her early oeuvre.
In choosing the title, ‘Journey to the Image’, we saw an opportunity to verbalise the two major threads in the exhibition. The first relates to the 1960s, the decade these artworks were produced. Lika Yanko was at the beginning of her career, and it was through the images of the object world that she sought her own truth about art. The second line traces the artist’s ‘journey’ into herself, where she was not alone. Spontaneously, rather like a playful act, or fully consciously as a quiet rebellion against the norms of official art, a small informal group of female artists launched into annual creative trips in the Rhodope Mountains, the environs of Melnik, Karlanovo, and other places. The party included Vanya Decheva, Dora Kancheva, Olga Valnarova, Mimi Veselinova, Kostadinka Tsvetkova, and Zheni Mehandzhiyska… We have no first-hand evidence of a common aesthetic platform of theirs, but, standing before their pictorial works, we may form, with a great deal of certainty, an impression of the moods that had overwhelmed them, and of the sources they followed.
We say all this clearly aware of the broadest outline of a problem in the history of Bulgarian art that has so far been only sketched out, without being supported by the necessary visualisation and professional commentary.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive on this topic.
It only outlines the general silhouettes of names, events and artistic facts that have not been studied or analysed in detail. They inhabit those border or extreme zones removed from the official line, where absence, silence and insufficiency still dominate, but without them, the overall picture of Bulgarian art history will not be full and complete.
Curated by Nikolay Ushtavaliiski and Iva Veleva.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Nayden Todorov
Solоist/s
Khatia Buniatishvili
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 in B-flat minor, Op.23
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.1 “Winter Daydreams”

National Gallery / The Palace
The National Gallery owns one of the most appreciable and representative collections of artworks by Lika Yanko (1928–2001). This became possible thanks to the donation gesture the artist made while still living. Whereas the two extensive exhibitions, held in 2002 and 2011, were based on the most comprehensive chronology possible, the current exhibition focuses attention on issues of her early oeuvre.
In choosing the title, ‘Journey to the Image’, we saw an opportunity to verbalise the two major threads in the exhibition. The first relates to the 1960s, the decade these artworks were produced. Lika Yanko was at the beginning of her career, and it was through the images of the object world that she sought her own truth about art. The second line traces the artist’s ‘journey’ into herself, where she was not alone. Spontaneously, rather like a playful act, or fully consciously as a quiet rebellion against the norms of official art, a small informal group of female artists launched into annual creative trips in the Rhodope Mountains, the environs of Melnik, Karlanovo, and other places. The party included Vanya Decheva, Dora Kancheva, Olga Valnarova, Mimi Veselinova, Kostadinka Tsvetkova, and Zheni Mehandzhiyska… We have no first-hand evidence of a common aesthetic platform of theirs, but, standing before their pictorial works, we may form, with a great deal of certainty, an impression of the moods that had overwhelmed them, and of the sources they followed.
We say all this clearly aware of the broadest outline of a problem in the history of Bulgarian art that has so far been only sketched out, without being supported by the necessary visualisation and professional commentary.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive on this topic.
It only outlines the general silhouettes of names, events and artistic facts that have not been studied or analysed in detail. They inhabit those border or extreme zones removed from the official line, where absence, silence and insufficiency still dominate, but without them, the overall picture of Bulgarian art history will not be full and complete.
Curated by Nikolay Ushtavaliiski and Iva Veleva.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

National Gallery / The Palace
The National Gallery owns one of the most appreciable and representative collections of artworks by Lika Yanko (1928–2001). This became possible thanks to the donation gesture the artist made while still living. Whereas the two extensive exhibitions, held in 2002 and 2011, were based on the most comprehensive chronology possible, the current exhibition focuses attention on issues of her early oeuvre.
In choosing the title, ‘Journey to the Image’, we saw an opportunity to verbalise the two major threads in the exhibition. The first relates to the 1960s, the decade these artworks were produced. Lika Yanko was at the beginning of her career, and it was through the images of the object world that she sought her own truth about art. The second line traces the artist’s ‘journey’ into herself, where she was not alone. Spontaneously, rather like a playful act, or fully consciously as a quiet rebellion against the norms of official art, a small informal group of female artists launched into annual creative trips in the Rhodope Mountains, the environs of Melnik, Karlanovo, and other places. The party included Vanya Decheva, Dora Kancheva, Olga Valnarova, Mimi Veselinova, Kostadinka Tsvetkova, and Zheni Mehandzhiyska… We have no first-hand evidence of a common aesthetic platform of theirs, but, standing before their pictorial works, we may form, with a great deal of certainty, an impression of the moods that had overwhelmed them, and of the sources they followed.
We say all this clearly aware of the broadest outline of a problem in the history of Bulgarian art that has so far been only sketched out, without being supported by the necessary visualisation and professional commentary.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive on this topic.
It only outlines the general silhouettes of names, events and artistic facts that have not been studied or analysed in detail. They inhabit those border or extreme zones removed from the official line, where absence, silence and insufficiency still dominate, but without them, the overall picture of Bulgarian art history will not be full and complete.
Curated by Nikolay Ushtavaliiski and Iva Veleva.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

National Gallery / The Palace
The National Gallery owns one of the most appreciable and representative collections of artworks by Lika Yanko (1928–2001). This became possible thanks to the donation gesture the artist made while still living. Whereas the two extensive exhibitions, held in 2002 and 2011, were based on the most comprehensive chronology possible, the current exhibition focuses attention on issues of her early oeuvre.
In choosing the title, ‘Journey to the Image’, we saw an opportunity to verbalise the two major threads in the exhibition. The first relates to the 1960s, the decade these artworks were produced. Lika Yanko was at the beginning of her career, and it was through the images of the object world that she sought her own truth about art. The second line traces the artist’s ‘journey’ into herself, where she was not alone. Spontaneously, rather like a playful act, or fully consciously as a quiet rebellion against the norms of official art, a small informal group of female artists launched into annual creative trips in the Rhodope Mountains, the environs of Melnik, Karlanovo, and other places. The party included Vanya Decheva, Dora Kancheva, Olga Valnarova, Mimi Veselinova, Kostadinka Tsvetkova, and Zheni Mehandzhiyska… We have no first-hand evidence of a common aesthetic platform of theirs, but, standing before their pictorial works, we may form, with a great deal of certainty, an impression of the moods that had overwhelmed them, and of the sources they followed.
We say all this clearly aware of the broadest outline of a problem in the history of Bulgarian art that has so far been only sketched out, without being supported by the necessary visualisation and professional commentary.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive on this topic.
It only outlines the general silhouettes of names, events and artistic facts that have not been studied or analysed in detail. They inhabit those border or extreme zones removed from the official line, where absence, silence and insufficiency still dominate, but without them, the overall picture of Bulgarian art history will not be full and complete.
Curated by Nikolay Ushtavaliiski and Iva Veleva.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

In front of the Presidency

The ceremonial change of the guard in front of the Presidency marks the national and public holidays in Bulgaria. The officialchange of the guard takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:00 o’clock.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Nayden Todorov
Solоist/s
Ben Goldscheider
Jess Gillam
Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Gwilym Simcock – Concerto for Soprano Saxophone, Horn and Violoncello
Roland Baumgartner – “The Wertheim” Symphony

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Jong-Jin Lee
Solоist/s
Svetlin Roussev
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Jean Sibelius – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op.47
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Emil Tabakov
Solоist/s
Edwin Eung Soo Kim
István Várdai
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Johannes Brahms – Concerto for Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op. 68

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Ivan Hristov (1900–1987), one of the most prominent masters of Bulgarian landscape painting, created hundreds of canvases reflecting the intransient in our native nature and Revivalist architecture, recreating and preserving their rich spiritual impact. He worked in this genre alongside Boris Denev, Nikola Tanev, Sirak Skitnik, Vladimir Rilski, Atanas Staykov, Danail Dechev, Pencho Georgiev, Mario Zhekov, among many others. He was a member of the Native Art Society. The painter’s oeuvre is recognisable by its rich colour palette and expressive brushstrokes. The building elements of his style are in harmony with the material power of nature. Critics responded favourably to his strong individuality and idiosyncratic painting technique. High international recognition for the artist was the Gold Medal at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, where he showed his painting, ‘Sozopol Houses’.

Ivan Hristov’s retrospectives have been held at the Nikola Petrov Art Gallery in Vidin (2015) and the Hristo Tsokev Art Gallery in Gabrovo (2017). The current extensive exposition comprises predominantly unexhibited works owned by his heirs and by admirers of his art, as well as paintings from the collections of the National Gallery and the Plovdiv City Art Gallery.

In 1919, young Hristov enrolled in the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and concurrently attended the Academy of Arts. He chose to study painting under professors Nikola Ganushev, Nikola Marinov and Stefan Ivanov. Between 1926 and 1927, he specialised in Painting in Munich. Towards the end of his stay there, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kunstverein Gallery, where, along with portraits, he also showed several townscapes of Tryavna.

After returning to his homeland, he was appointed as teacher at the Carpentry School in Tryavna, and became one of the initiators of the foundation of a local museum preserving the masterpieces of woodcarving and iconography. He continued his intensive creative work, presenting a series of over 50 solo exhibitions not only in Bulgaria but also abroad, including the Munich Kunsthaus Brakl Gallery (1928), the Camera degli Artisti Gallery in Rome (1930), the Turin Gallery at Palazzo Carignano (1931), the Salita di Santa Caterina Gallery in Genova, La Bottega dell’Arte Gallery in Brescia, the Salon Artistiozi Sztuki I Reproductsia in Warsaw (1934), the Sala Centrala a Atensumi in Bucharest (1935), and the Berlin Gallerie von der Heyde (1938).

His works are owned by the National Gallery, the Sofia City Art Gallery, and all regional galleries; state institutions, embassies and public organisations in Bulgaria; the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest; the National Museum in Schwerin; the Anastasia Sima Museum in Bucharest; the UN, state institutions of Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania, Cuba and Hungary; the City Hall of Rome; many private collections in Bulgaria and around the world.

Bearer of high state awards and titles in the fine arts, and honorary citizen of Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna.

Media partner: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Marta Gaitandjieva
Solоist/s
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

In front of the Presidency

The ceremonial change of the guard in front of the Presidency marks the national and public holidays in Bulgaria. The officialchange of the guard takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:00 o’clock.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Simeon Pironkoff
Solоist/s
Joanna Ruseva
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
National Philharmonic Choir
Program
Claude Debussy – “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune” – Symphonic Prelude, L. 86
Simeon Pironkov – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Béla Bartók – “The Miraculous Mandarin”

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Julian Rachlin
Nayden Todorov
Solоist/s
Alisa Medvedeva
Ensemble
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
Program
Giuseppe Verdi – Overture from Opera “La forza del destino”
Charles Gounod – Marguerite’s aria/the Jewel Song (Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir) from “Faust”, Act III
Franz Lehár – Giuditta’s aria (Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiβ) from the Operetta “Giuditta”, Act 4
Antonín Dvořák – Mermaid Aria, Act I from”Rusalka”
Giacomo Puccini – Aria of Lauretta ((O mio babbino caro) from Opera Gianni Schicchi
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.6 “Pathétique” in B minor, Op.74

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

The National Gallery presents one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian art – Zahari Zograph. This first immersive exhibition introduces a new way of experiencing the masterpieces of the the museum’s collection. Harnessing new technologies, the 20-minute project, created by Senzor Studio, brings his religious and secular masterpieces to life, revealing essential elements of his creative process.
The initiative promotes Bulgarian Revival аrt, a period characterized by economic, social, and cultural growth, closely tied to the pursuit of ecclesiastical and national independence. The period traces its origins to the mid-18th century, when Paisius of Hilendar wrote Istoriya Slavyanobulgarskaya (History of the Slavs and Bulgarians) in 1762—which profoundly shaped the spiritual awakening of the population and contributed significantly to the development of national consciousness…
The exhibition features a selection of icons, drawings, copies, letters, documents, and secular portraits from the artist’s early period. It also showcases a substantive collection of murals, ranging from his earliest works—created in 1838 for the Chapel of St John the Baptist at the Church of the Holy Virgin—Annunciation in Asenovgrad—to what is considered as his “final masterpiece,” the murals adorning the narthex of the Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, completed between 1851 and 1852.
Zahari Zograph emerged as a defining figure of Bulgarian Revival art. His relentlessly inquisitive artistic spirit was ahead of its era, and his extensive body of work reflects the vitality of the approaching modern age, the artistry of traditional imagery, the strength of line, and the emotive power of color.
The project is realised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creation programme 2024.
Media partners: BTA / Bulgarian News Agency and SOF Connect.

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Mariya Valchanova
Solоist/s
Ensemble
National Philharmonic Choir
About this event
Works by PETKO STAYNOV and ZOLTÁN KODÁLY