Bratislava - Slovak National Gallery - Galleries

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Bratislava - Slovak National Gallery
Bratislava

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Bratislava – Slovak National Gallery

The Slovak National Gallery was founded as the supreme state institution in the fields of art history, art collecting, scientific research, culture and education under the Slovak National Council Act No. 24 of 29 July 1948. The establishment of the Slovak National Gallery was initiated by the poet Ladislav Novomesky, who was then the Minister of Education, Science and Art. The Gallery consists of a complex of buildings. The central building was originally a four-wing Baroque residence of the former municipal police force located on the Danube embankment (hence the name of Water Barracks) and built in 1759–1763 (designed by architects G.B. Martinelli and F.A. Hillebrandt). The historic building was first adapted to serve the needs of the Slovak National Gallery (1950–1955). Later it was reconstructed and an extension was built (1969–1977, by the architect V. Dedecek) to meet new requirements. In 1990, the Gallery acquired the Esterhazy Palace, built in the second half of the 19th century (by the builder I. Feigler Jr.). After the reconstruction of this palace, the Gallery gained new exhibition spaces. Originally, activities at the Gallery focused on acquisition, research, restoration and presentation of the cultural heritage within all branches of art, namely painting, sculpture, drawing and graphic art. Gradually, art collections have been enriched in works of art from other branches as well. In 1960, the Gallery increased its activities and started to acquire artefacts from the fields of applied arts and industrial design. Since 1965 works of naive art have also been included in the Gallery collections thanks to international exhibitions of the Triennial of Naive Art. The latest Gallery acquisitions are from the fields of stage and costume design and photography. Since 1986, the collection of architecture has been gathered (studies, projects, models). The most recent collection, which started in 1990, concentrates on the works of inter-media character. The entire collection fund consists of about 55, 000 works of art. The collection policy is based on the idea of acquiring the works that recall the history of Slovakia and its cultural heritage. The emphasis is placed especially on the area of Slovak art and art in Slovakia. Nevertheless, European art forms an integral part of the Slovak National Gallery collections as well.

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