The Mimara Museum () is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

in the city of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia. It is situated on Roosevelt Square, housing the collection by Wiltrud and

Ante Topić Mimara Ante Topić Mimara (7 April 1898 in Korušce – 30 January 1987 in Zagreb) was a controversial Croatian art collector and philanthropist. He donated his collection of more than 3,700 artifacts, ranging from the prehistoric art, prehistoric to the ...

. Housed in an imposing

neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

former school is the eclectic, globe-trotting private art collection of Ante Topić Mimara, who donated over 3,750 priceless objects to his native Zagreb (even though he spent much of his life in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

). Inside you'll find

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty *Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining t ...

glassware from

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, delicate jade and ivory

Qing-dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and s ...

ornaments, ornate 14th-century wooden crosses encrusted with semiprecious stones and a vast European painting collection with works by

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, Bosch,

Velázquez Velázquez, also Velazquez, Velásquez or Velasquez (, ), is a surname from Spain. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Velasco". References to "Velazquez" without a first name are often to the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez. Notable peo ...

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that ...

and Degas. For over thirty years the Mimara Museum has been a centre of the artistic, cultural and social scene in Zagreb. When the museum opened on July 17, 1987, an important collection of art, the "masterwork" of one of the greatest art collectors in this part of the world, Ante Topić Mimara, was presented to the public. Mimara wished for his private art collection to become part of national heritage: the works of art from his private collection, which he bequeathed to the Croatian nation in 1973 and 1986, are now exhibited in the museum named Mimara after the donor. View at Mimara Museum from Westin Zagreb

View at Mimara Museum from Westin Zagreb

History

An impressive monument of cultural heritage Situated in the historical centre of Zagreb close to the Green Horseshoe system of city parks, the neoclassical museum building dating from the second half of the 19th century is part of the typical urban architecture of Donji grad, Zagreb, Zagreb's Lower Town. It was built in 1896 as a complex of school buildings. Built in pseudo-renaissance style of the Italian urban palaces, the building is classified as architectural heritage protected by the Ministry of Culture and Media (Croatia), Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. The monumental school building was built on the initiative of Dr Izidor Kršnjavi, a prominent Croatian figure in the late 19th century. In addition to the vast central building flanked by two wings, of special interest are the museum's atrium and the former school gym that was built in the style of ancient Greek temples. The three-storey school building was designed by A. Ludwig and L. Th. Hülssner, German architects who specialised in building schools in the entire Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1985 Ante Topić Mimara expressed immense joy as he achieved his life's goal and fulfilled his debt to his homeland and the Croatian people by opening the Museum in Zagreb.

, born on April 7, 1898, was not just a collector but also a painter, restorer, and lover of art. Despite spending most of his life outside Croatia, his passion for collecting art never waned. His dream was to turn his art collection into a museum, a project he actively worked on in his later years after moving to Zagreb. Starting in the mid-1920s Mimara began collecting art objects, a hobby that grew into a significant collection over the years. He lived in various European cities, including Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, and Berlin, always expanding his collection through visits to museums, galleries, antique shops, and auctions. Even before World War II Mimara had a noteworthy art collection, with professional texts about his works appearing in prestigious German art magazines. Despite living abroad, he kept Croatia close to his heart, always contemplating a return and a future donation. In 1948 he made his first donation by giving numerous paintings and sculptures to Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters , Strossmayer's gallery in Zagreb. The foundation of today's Mimara Museum was established through his major donations in 1973 and 1986, including works from his collection and those of his wife, Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Topić Mersmann. Croatian Apoxyomenos Louvre n04

Collections within the museum: * ''A collection of ancient civilizations'' * ''Collection of drawings, graphics and illuminations'' * ''Collection of European sculpture'' * ''Collection of ivory'' * ''Collection of metals and other materials'' * ''Collection of ceramics and porcelain'' * ''Glass collection'' * ''Collection of furniture'' * ''A collection of textiles and rugs'' * ''Collection of Far Eastern art'' * ''Collection of icons'' * ''Flemish painting'' * ''Spanish painting'' * ''French painting'' * ''Italian painting'' * ''English painting'' * ''Dutch painting'' * ''German, Austrian and Swiss painting'' A "small Louvre" in the centre of Zagreb The hundred-year old schoolrooms of the grammar school were transformed into a gallery that is home to one of the most impressive and exhaustive art collections in this part of the world. Over 3,750 exhibits constituting the permanent display of the museum include prime samples of diverse material and technique from a geographically and historically broad collection of international arts and crafts. To walk through the exhibition rooms of the three-storey gallery building is to walk through a "three-dimensional art encyclopaedia" and visitors often leave with the impression that they have just experienced a "small Louvre". The glass collection on the ground floor presents a history of glass making from the early items dated from 2000 B.C. to the late 19th century and includes fine samples of the glass making tradition in Venice and Murano. The oriental collection includes precious items made of fine china, semi-precious stones and other luxury materials. The first floor is dedicated to ancient civilizations and a collection of European sculpting art and crafts. The old civilizations collection includes artefacts from the Mesopotamian civilization, Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome. The oldest piece in the collection, a bone figurine of Venus from the early Paleolithic age, testifies to the beginnings of artistic expression in mankind. Almost all historical styles of sculpture present in European civilization are represented in this collection, from Romanesque art, Romanesque sacral art to 20th-century sculpture. Crafts are represented in collections of artefacts made of ivory, china, textiles, metal and other materials, and a furniture collection dating from the late 15th to the early 19th century that is part of the museum's permanent display. The rooms on the second floor are dedicated to paintings by Italian, French, Flemish, Spanish and Dutch masters, dating from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century, as well as a large collection of icons. Apart from works by old masters such as Paolo Veneziano, Rubens and Diego Velázquez, impressionist art from the second half of the 19th century is well represented with Auguste Renoir's Bather, Édouard Manet's still-lifes and a number of pieces by Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro. The Mimara Museum hosts cultural, social and business events In addition to the gallery which is home to the art from the permanent display, important art exhibitions are occasionally organised in the atrium, the collector's room on the ground floor, and the studio in the basement. The vast space of the arched atrium lined with marble pillars provides an elegant ambience for cultural events such as book promotions, award giving ceremonies in art and culture, press conferences and other types of events, including product or service presentations and gala dinners. The atrium can seat 200 people. Next to the atrium is a multimedia hall with the capacity of 100, well fitted for lectures and screening events. Across the hall from the multimedia room is the newly refurbished Gymnasium Cafe with a large terrace, which also offers catering services for all types of events. The grand hall on the second floor of the museum, with a selection of old masters' paintings on display and walls decorated with gilded stucco makes a unique event space with the capacity of 200 seated guests, suitable for all types of events, from concerts to business conferences, conventions, lectures and presentations. file:Fellgimn.jpg , Museum building in 1930s File:Mimara Museum, Zagreb 02.jpg, Facade of the Museum File:Mimara Museum, Zagreb 01.jpg, Museum plaque

Museum Mimara – Reconstruction

The Mimara Museum faced significant damage during the 2020 Zagreb earthquake, earthquake. It had to close its doors to visitors from March 22, 2020. The roof of the building and the fancy hall on the second floor got really damaged. Even some of the art on display got damaged, but they are working to fix everything. In 2024 the Mimara Museum is on the brink of a grand comeback. Despite facing significant damage in the earthquake, the restoration efforts are in full swing. The collective efforts to repair the building and restore damaged artworks symbolize a triumphant resurrection of this cultural gem.

Artworks

According to Thomas Hoving, "Topic Mimara's hoard of masterpieces are 95 percent fakes produced by him and his hired forgers.". On its opening, a "prominent Yugoslav art historian" told AP that "it might be the greatest collection of fakes in the world.". According to Federico Zeri, the preview contained "trash along with some good things. Ninety percent is junk."; Ante Topić Mimara built his collection by forging, but also by looting and swindling.Konstantin Akinsha
Ante Topic Mimara,"The Master Swindler of Yugoslavia"
ARTnews September 2001 Of the total of 3,700 varied works of art, more than 1,500 exhibits constitute permanent holdings, dating from the prehistoric period up to the 20th century. Some of the most famous exhibits include works attributed to Pietro Lorenzetti, Lorenzetti, Giorgione, Paolo Veronese, Veronese, Canaletto, 60 paintings to the Dutch masters Van Goyen, Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael, Ruisdael, 50 works attributed to the Flemish masters Van der Weyden, Bosch, Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens, Van Dyck, more than 30 to the Spanish masters

, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Murillo,

, some 20 paintings to the German masters Hans Holbein the Younger, Holbein, Max Liebermann, Liebermann, Leibl, some 30 paintings to the English painters Thomas Gainsborough, Gainsborough, J. M. W. Turner, Turner, Richard Parkes Bonington, Bonington and more than 120 paintings attributed to the French masters Georges de La Tour, François Boucher, Boucher, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Chardin, Eugène Delacroix, Delacroix, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Corot, Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Renoir, Degas. The drawings collection holds some 200 drawings attributed to Bronzino, Guardi, Claude Lorrain, Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Oudry, Greuze, Géricault, and Friesz. The museum was opened in 1987. The building itself originates from the 19th century, its conversion to a museum overseen by a Zagreb architect Kuno Waidmann; originally it served as a gymnasium (school), gymnasium.

Gallery

File:Mimara Museum, Zagreb 04.jpg, John the Baptist by Raffaellino del Garbo, year ? File:After Jheronimus Bosch 026.jpg, ''The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1501 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Femme au bain.jpg, ''Woman Bathing'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, (1868-1869) File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Jeune fille priant.jpg, ''Girl Praying'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864 File:Mimara Museum, Zagreb 05.jpg, Engraving by Lucas Van Leyden, 1520 File:Paolo Veneziano 003.jpg, ''Apostles St James and St Bartholomew'', by Paolo Veneziano ca.1345 File:Head of Buddha, Mimara Museum.jpg, Head of Buddha from Ming dynasty, bronze File:Mimara Museum, Zagreb 03.jpg, Door Knocker from Venice, Italy, 16 century, bronze. File:CRO2650-Fuite en Égypte.jpg, Flight into Egypt (Germany), Polychrome, polychrome wood, 16 century.

References

External links