SK

A late-Gothic panel of the Madonna enthroned with the Christ Child between Saint Barbara and Saint Anthony, attributed to an unknown painter of the Danube School active in the early 16th century. The Slovak National Gallery presents the work as a collaborative workshop production: its note explains that such altarpieces were made by several painters under a master's direction, their purpose being to communicate biblical stories and saints to the faithful rather than to display individual authorship.

“But also that the mission of the painters of the altarpieces was to communicate the biblical stories and saints to the people. What was essential, then, was what they depicted and not their own authorial input.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Gold ewer with dragon and phoenix design East Asia · Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

A half-length Saint Catherine of Alexandria set against a dark ground, seated on a rock with her classical martyr's attributes — the broken wheel, the sword and the palm. The French painter Simon Vouet painted her in the Caravaggesque manner of his Roman years, tempered by the lyricism and harmony he drew from Guido Reni. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“V tomto slohovom názore namaľoval aj bratislavskú Sv. Katarínu – pred tmavým pozadím, s vylúčením všetkých vedľajších prvkov, aby nič nerušilo pôvab a noblesu svätice.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Hasan’s cloak Islamic world · Last third of the 16th century, reworked mid-17th century

A rarely depicted Old Testament scene of Zipporah circumcising the son of Moses, the kneeling figures filling almost the whole canvas beneath the appearing head of God. The Slovak National Gallery attributes this large Venetian Baroque painting to Antonio Zanchi.

“The artist placed two figures, a man and woman in the foreground who take up almost the entire area of the painting.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Tứ Kỳ Pagoda Stone Incense Pillar (Cây hương chùa Tứ Kỳ) South Asia · 1666, Cảnh Trị reign, Lê Huyền Tông, Lê Trung Hưng period

A large Dutch still life of a dead hare, a hunting trophy of the kind that flourished in the age of the lavish Amsterdam 'pronk' still life. The Slovak National Gallery's note sets it within the fashion for depicting dead game as an emblem of aristocratic leisure. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Do tohto obdobia spadá móda spodobovania mŕtvych zvierat, ale v praktickom význame to boli vlastne poľovnícke trofeje” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Multi-armed Quan Am (Avalokiteshvara) South Asia · 18th century or later

One of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt's celebrated 'Character Heads', the grimacing busts he modelled in his Bratislava years. In the sculptor's own words the bizarre expression depicts a hostile spirit of proportion. The Slovak National Gallery holds the Character Heads as later metal casts of the original series.

“In Messerschmidt's own words, this bizarre expression is the image of a hostile spirit of proportion.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Jadeite Cabbage East Asia · Qing dynasty, 1644–1911

A sandstone allegorical figure of Melancholy — a seated woman whose gesture veils part of her bowed face, an image of mourning with roots in antique funerary reliefs. The Slovak National Gallery describes it as the work of an unknown follower of the Pressburg (Bratislava) sculptor Ľudovít Gode, in the tradition of Georg Raphael Donner. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Dokladom silnej donnerovskej tradície je aj realizácia alegorickej ženskej figúry Melanchólie vytvorená neznámym nasledovníkom Ľudovíta Godeho.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Card table used by Francisco de Paula Santander (Mesa de tresillo de Santander) Americas & Oceania · 18th century (c. 1780)

A small chalk drawing of a watering place with ravens, made three years after Mednyánszky's 1875 stay among the Barbizon plein-air painters in France. The Slovak National Gallery relates it to the 'Stimmung' — the mood or atmosphere — that the artist considered his chief task as a painter to capture.

“He was influenced by his experience with plein air painting in Barbizon in France, where he had stayed in 1875, hence three years before creating his painting with the ravens.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Kahu kiwi (kiwi feather cloak) Americas & Oceania · Māori, 1850–1900

A watercolour of the marketplace at Szolnok on the river Tisza, a lowland town that drew plein-air painters from across Austria and Hungary. The Slovak National Gallery notes that Mednyánszky visited Szolnok in 1877 and 1880, the year of this sheet.

“Ever since the 1850s, the town of Szolnok on the river Tisza was a much-desired plein air destination in summer for painters from Austria and Hungary.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) Americas & Oceania · 1883–84

A monumental view of figures on the high pastures of Liptov, built up in relief-like layers with a decorative palette and a figural group set across the foreground. The Slovak National Gallery treats Martin Benka — called the 'alchemist of Slovak beauty' — as the founder of a nationally oriented Slovak painting that monumentalised the land and people of rural Slovakia. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Zreteľne to dokladá obraz Na liptovských holiach (1922) s reliéfnym vrstvením jednotlivých obrazových plánov, dekoratívnym farebným komponovaním a umiestnením figurálnej skupiny na prednom pláne.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — The Coronation Crown of Queen Marie Islamic world · 1922

A pen-and-ink composition of lovers, subtitled 'Song, Pastorale'. With Ľudovít Fulla, Mikuláš Galanda was a founder of Slovak painterly modernism; the SNG's note stresses that he did not paint folklore but sought instead to express the Slovak mentality and national character through modern pictorial means. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Galanda nemaľoval folklór, ale vytrvalo hľadal vyjadrenie slovenskej mentality, charakteru národa výtvarnými prostriedkami (Milenci | Pieseň, Pastorále, 1929 – 1930).” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Phar Lap's Skeleton (Horse, Equus caballus) Americas & Oceania · Phar Lap 1926–1932

A key work of Július Jakoby's so-called social grotesque, in which the Košice painter no longer merely records observed events but submits them to subjective deformation, achieving the grotesque through the stylisation of gesture, posture and facial expression. The Slovak National Gallery counts him among the most authentic figures of Slovak modernism. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Otváranie brány patrí medzi kľúčové diela Jakobyho tzv. sociálnej grotesky; maliar už neregistruje iba bezprostredne zažité a videné deje, ale podrobuje ich subjektívnej deformácii.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Primeros pasos Americas & Oceania · 1936

One of Cyprián Majerník's late wartime paintings of exiles — riderless horses, war refugees and hunted figures wandering an anonymous world amid the chaos of war. The Slovak National Gallery places 'Exiles' (1943) at the heart of the artist's mature theme of flight from the world. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“kone bez jazdcov, vojnoví utečenci, štvanci na úteku, ľudia blúdiaci v anonymnom svete uprostred vojnového chaosu (Utečené kone, 1941; Utečenci, 1943).” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Buzzy Bee (toy) Americas & Oceania · circa 1943

A monumental sculpture-relief by Jozef Jankovič, a leading figure of modern Slovak sculpture. The Slovak National Gallery reads 'The Great Fall' (1968) as a reflection of the mood among people during the Warsaw Pact occupation, its fragmented, autonomous body-parts an image of wounded and humiliated humanity. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“Dielo Veľký pád z roku 1968 v plnej miere odráža vtedajšie pocity ľudí počas okupácie vojskami Varšavskej zmluvy.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Untitled Americas & Oceania · 1970

A large late canvas in which Vincent Hložník fuses apocalyptic animal motifs with Christian symbols, using the motif of blood as a sign of the needless suffering of war. The Slovak National Gallery includes it among Slovak art's responses to the horrors of war in the tradition running from Goya. Adapted from the SNG's Slovak-language catalogue text (excerpt quoted in the original Slovak).

“V slovenskom umení túto polohu reprezentuje napríklad Mudrochov slávny obraz Zavraždený básnik alebo Hložníkova symbióza apokalyptických zvieracích motívov s kresťanskými symbolmi.” In the museum’s words — webumenia.sk ↗ · quotation verified against the live page

Meanwhile — Amouage 'Gold' Frankincense Perfume Flasks Islamic world · 1983