exhibition "April 1876"

About this event

The exhibition is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising and presents 76 works - paintings, graphics and drawings - from the gallery's collection. Sixty of the works were acquired through the 1976 and 1986 General Art Exhibitions dedicated to the uprising, thanks to which the "Stanislav Dospevski" HG formed one of the largest and most significant collections dedicated to the events of 1876. The exhibition impresses not only with the monumental presence of some of the works, but also with the various artistic interpretations of this significant event in Bulgarian history. Figural compositions have been selected, unlike previous editions, which also included individual portraits, because this time we wanted to draw attention to the drama of the uprising - a maelstrom that, along with the heroes, did not pass anyone by. The works trace the path from the oath in the paintings of Alexander Poplilov, Svetlin Rusev and Borislav Stoev - that sacred moment of swearing in front of the cross and the dagger - to the "Consecration" of the mother in the canvas of Atanas Yaranov, who prepared her son's body for his last journey. Between them unfolds the narrative of that time, created by more than fifty authors: the revival urges for enlightenment and national self-awareness, the fear and horror of Batak, the painful journey of the exiles, Benkovski's Flying Cavalry, The Bulgarian Princess, the ashes and the crumb of failure. From the first impulse of the uprising to the last chord of the sacrifice - transformed into an artistic narrative of freedom, suffered and resurrected.