In the National Gallery – Square 500 in Sofia, the “Muses and Models” exhibition has been opened. It is dedicated to the nude female body. It has inspired artists since the Antiquity. After the Liberation from Ottoman rule a drawing school was established in Sofia and it later evolved into today's National Academy of Art. With the establishment of these two institutions the academic training of Bulgarian artists began. Curator of the exhibition is Iskra Trayanova. She has chosen works of Bulgarian and foreign masters from the first half of the twentieth century, whose paintings are part of the gallery’s collection.

In the Bulgarian selection one sees names like Nikola Tanev, Kiril Tsonev, Dechko Uzunov, Masha Zhivkova, Boris Ivanov, Sultana Suruzhon, and Vera Nedkova... "It all actually started with a painting by Ivan Mrkvička, called ‘Woman Bathing,’” Iskra Trayanova says. “Mrkvička was born in Czechia, but accepted Bulgarian citizenship and is considered a Bulgarian artist. So, this work, which was created around 1900, marked the beginning of the artistic conversation on muses and models in Bulgaria.”

The selection of works painted by foreign artists include: Maurice Brianchon, Maurice Loutreuil, André Favory, Jules Cavaillès, Roland Oudot, Filipp Malyavin...

“Curator’s interest focused on 10 Bulgarian and 10 European artists, whose paintings are part of the museum’s collection. Actually this is the first exhibition of a series of similar initiatives that are part of the Points of Intersection Project of the National Gallery.”

The aim of this project is highlighting the cultural intersection between the new Bulgarian art and the European art experience. 
 
"The naked body is only an occasion for showing the solid presence of Bulgarian artists in the European art context, especially in the first four decades of the twentieth century when Bulgarian artists already had enough confidence. Bulgarian artists had also acquired solid academic schooling in major European centers like Paris and Vienna and later Berlin, Florence and Rome. This is how the academic experience started to give fruits in the country.”

Bulgarian artists used to present their works at prestigious European forums in the Salon of Independent artists (Salon des Indépendants), in Salon des Tuileries or in the Autumn Salon in Paris. "These are very large forums and we should also mention the participations of Bulgarian artists in the Paris Exhibition in 1900 and in 1937. The Venice Biennale should not be missed, too. The Bulgarian artists together with their colleagues from other European countries were playing important part in the art context of the continent.”

 
We asked the curator how a nude is painted. 
 
 "It is done the way it was done in ancient antiquity, because at that time the whole repertoire of proportions was created. It is that ideal body deeply embedded into the mind of the artist,” Iskra Trayanova says in conclusion. 
 The exhibition continues until October 30. 
 

English: Alexander Markov