Professional paper
Foundation of the Strossmayer Gallery
Domagoj Šegregur
; VII. gimnazija, HR-10000 Zagreb
Abstract
Croatian pride, the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sci¬ences houses a rich collection of works of European painting from 14th-19th century and has an impor¬tant place in Croatian cultural history. The 150th anniversary of the Academy is an appropriate mo¬ment to recall that the Gallery, Archive and Library are the fundamental institutions on which the Academy has developed. The analysis of the foundation of the Gallery has presented the circumstances, social conditions and key persons who, along with the founder, Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, participated in its creation. A complex, thirty-year-long process can be observed from the correspondence: it covers the fund raising, gathering collaborators, procurement of paintings and the construction of the Palace itself.
It is evident that Strossmayer secured the means for the Gallery from the funds gained at the territory of Đakovo diocese. The correspondence also reveals that he consulted important persons and ventured through cooperation to make it possible for the Gallery to be built. It can be read that a lot of obstacles had to be overcome and how political and social circumstances influenced Strossmayer’s decisions. The most reliable assistant to Strossmayer was historiographer Franjo Rački. Canon Nikola Voršak and painter Ivan Simonetti were the most important for the acquisition of works of art which all had to represent a religious theme. By insisting on sacred scenes, Strossmayer opposed the secularization of the society at the time when politics and religion were interwoven with all aspects of life. Strossmayer’s speeches are a good source for understanding his motives and his desire to accomplish his life’s goal: ‘All to be done for faith and homeland’. The foundation of the Gallery was a planned action in the period of struggle for natio¬nal culture and better future in education but it also expanded the Academy’s activities on artistic fields.
Keywords
Strossmayer gallery; J.J. strossmayer; franjo Rački; Nikola Voršak; Ivan Simo¬netti
Hrčak ID:
101283
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2013.
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