The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters ( hr, Strossmayerova galerija starih majstora) is a fine art museum in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

exhibiting the collection donated to the city by Bishop

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop, and benefactor. Early life and rise as a cleric Strossmayer was born in Osije ...

in 1884. Located at 11

Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square ( hr, Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog, popularly referred to as Zrinjevac) is a square and park in Donji Grad, the central part of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is located near the central Ban Jelačić Square, hal ...

, it forms part of the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

(''Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti''). The Strossmayer Gallery holding includes around 4,000 works, of which some 250 are on display, with the remainder in storage, or on display at other museums or gallery institutions in Croatia.

History

The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters opened in November 1884, named after its founder, Josip Juraj Strossmayer, the

bishop of Đakovo A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. The Academy itself, with the bishop as patron, had been founded in 1866 and had moved into its specially built premises in the Zrinevac park in 1880, with a floor reserved to house the bishop's art collection. Bishop Strossmayer had been buying paintings for 30 years, since his appointment as bishop of Đakovo in 1850. He began with Italian art, mainly Renaissance works from Florence and Venice. In the 1870s, however, he diversified into the schools of northern Europe, and 17th-century art. In 1868, he decided to donate his collection to the Croatian people, entrusting it to the Academy. He oversaw the building of a Viennese style neo-Renaissance palace in Zagreb, designed by the architect

Friedrich von Schmidt Friedrich von Schmidt (October 22, 1825 – January 23, 1891) was an architect who worked in late 19th century Vienna. Life and career Von Schmidt was born in Frickenhofen, Gschwend, Württemberg, Germany. After studying at the technical high ...

, so that the works of art could be adequately presented to the public. The gallery was opened to the public on 9 November 1884, displaying 256 works of art. Over the years, such a prestigious collection attracted further donations, including those of contemporary artists. The expansion led in 1934 to the founding of the Modern Gallery to hold the more recent works. Other additions to the collection included acquisitions and donations from notable philanthropists such as

Ivan Ružić Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

Marquis Etienne de Piennes A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

, Ante Topić Mimara and

Zlatko Baloković Zlatko Baloković (March 31, 1895 – March 29, 1965) was a Croatian violinist. Early years He was born in Zagreb, Croatia (at the time part of Austria-Hungary), and began violin lessons at age ten. He made such progress that, after three years, ...

. In 2020, the art gallery building was damaged by a strong earthquake, and is closed as of 2021 due to repairs.

Collections

The Strossmayer Gallery exhibits the works of European painters from 14th-19th century. The holdings have been classified into three major groups: Italian, French and Northern European (German, Flemish and Dutch) works, and also some works by Croatian artists. They were given the collective name of Schiavoni, deriving from the Italian name for Slavs. Although born on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, their lives and work were associated with Italy. In addition to the paintings in the gallery, the Academy building also houses the Baška Tablet (''Bašćanska ploča''), the oldest known example of Glagolitic script, dating from 1102. A large statue of Bishop Strossmayer by

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

is located in the park behind the academy.

References

External links

Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters on the HAZU website

Old Masters Academy
{{Coord, 45.8093267, N, 15.9784957, E, region:HR-21_type:landmark_scale:4000, display=title, format=dms Art museums and galleries in Zagreb Donji grad, Zagreb Art museums established in 1884 1884 establishments in Croatia

History

Collections

See also

References

External links