The exhibition “The enchanted kingdom”, marking 130 years since the birth of Nikolay Raynov, is on at the Sofia City Art Gallery until 7 April. A journalist and an artist of versatile interests, Nikolay Raynov is one of the most prominent figures in Bulgarian art in the first half of the 20^th century.

The exposition now on display features works from all periods in his professional life. There are early works from the turn of the 20^th century when he was studying at the State School of Art and Industry, now the National Academy of Art, with Prof. Haralampi Tachev and Stefan Badjov.

“What we have tried to do in this exhibition is present his works in a new way,” explains Stanislava Nikolova, curator of the exhibition. “Visitors will notice that it is divided into two big groups. The first presents Nikolay Raynov’s decorative paintings connected with his specific theoretical texts. They are especially selected to demonstrate the way he worked – why he prefers landscapes, what he sees in them… There is a sense of mysticism permeating his paintings, and his texts. In the second hall we are displaying Nikolay Raynov’s black and white drawings, and his applied art works, including book cover designs, some of which are being shown to the public for the first time. Bulgarian National TV has kindly provided two documentaries about the artist and his work. So, what we have endeavoured to do is put together, reconstruct, like a puzzle, Nikolay Raynov in a new light.”

Nikolay Raynov has left for the coming generations many pages of poetry, fiction, philosophy, theoretical works on art, folklore, ethnography, he has worked for newspapers and magazines, and has made a study of many monuments of culture. It is not generally known that he was involved in the painting of the frescoes inside the St. Alexander Nevsky cathedral in Sofia. The current exhibition features works from his first and only solo exhibition mounted in 1922 in Plovdiv. What else is there to be seen from the magical world created by Nikolay Raynov at the exhibition at the Sofia City Art Gallery?

“There are works from the 1930s which illustrate his interest in nature, as well as a specific technique that is emblematic of the artist,” says Stanislava Nikolova. “He works with lacquer paints on sheets of tin-foil. The effect is as if light is streaming from the painting itself. Nikolay Raynov’s creative quests here are connected with the magical, with the kingdom of minerals, of plants and animals… He has a very original way of looking at flowers, butterflies and birds. He would say he was inspired by the East, that he loved Japanese art. He has a strong affinity for secession. It can be said that he was one of the first artists in Bulgaria to have started working in this style. And it all began with his books – as he worked on the illustrations he gradually adopted this style. Nikolay Raynov designed the book covers himself, as is the case with his “Bogomil legends”.”

Lectures on Nikolay Raynov’s work are scheduled every Thursday as fringe events, part of the sequence of “talks” he gave over the course of almost 10 years at the art academy, where every Sunday, he delivered popular lectures on the history of art.

A conference will be organized on 3 April by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Literature, presenting different scientific reports on hitherto unknown aspects of Nikolay Raynov’s work. 

English version: Milena Daynova