The Bulgarian National Revival in the Museum of Christian Art

The beginning of the Bulgarian National Revival is considered to date back to the 18th century. During this watershed period, processes were taking place in the Ottoman Empire, broadening the horizon of the enslaved Christian population. The role of the trade and artisanal strata was growing. The need for reforms, modern education and enlightenment was increasingly felt. Well known to every Bulgarian, ‘Istoriya slavyanobalgarska’ [Slavonic-Bulgarian History], written by Paisius of Hilendar in 1762, is believed to be the harbinger of the National Revival. His work had an extremely strong influence on the spirit and decisively drove forward the process of national self-awareness.

The exhibition presents works from the beginning of the 18th to the closing decades of the 19th century. The main trends in the iconography of the 18th century can be traced. Some of the iconographers continued to work in the spirit of the previous century, while others revived the splendour of the Palaiologan Renaissance.  

Specific attention is drawn to a characteristic phenomenon during the Revival period. This was the increased interest during that epoch in Bulgarian saints and those saints perceived as Bulgarian, which became one of the ways of establishing national self-awareness. The exhibition includes images of Sts Cyril and Methodius and their disciple Nahum, whose names, during the Revival, were invariably related to the struggle for the imposition of the Bulgarian language in education and church services of worship.

The oldest, with the greatest number of representatives, was the Tryavna Art School, which had emerged at the beginning of the 18th century. The iconographers, woodcarvers and builders from the small mountain town of Tryavna left an enormous artistic heritage that encompassed territories far beyond their birthplace. Their works were to be found in almost all the regions of Bulgaria, many settlements in Romania, as well as in some churches in Northern Greece and Serbia. The exhibition includes works of painters from the two largest iconographers’ families—those of Vitan and Zahariy.

The other brother, Zahari, went beyond his time and broke with the medieval humility of the iconographer monk. Aware of his talent, he boldly advertised his skills, becoming one of the most sought-after and valued painters of his time. Zahari created wonderful mural ensembles and exquisite icons, but he was also one of the first to work in mundane genres.  

The art of the iconographers from Debar is presented in the icons of St Nahum with Scenes from His Life and those painted by Avram Dichov and Marko Minov. The two masters were representatives of the second generation of two prominent iconographers’ families from Macedonia. Each family left a lasting mark on the art of the Bulgarian lands, but what united them was the renewal of their veneration of St Clement and St Nahum, through the special place that they devoted to them in their icons and murals.  

A characteristic phenomenon during the 18th and the first half of the 19th century was the pronouncedly expressed pilgrimage. It was prompted by the desire for personal self-affirmation and public prestige. Visiting the holy places in Jerusalem, the monasteries on Mount Athos and Rila Monastery was also connected with the process of donorship: for health and long life, for the salvation of the soul, and suchlike, pilgrims donated to the monasteries predominantly money, lands, books or craftworks. The Hadjis to the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Athos brought protective veils, miraculous icons, crosses, proskynetaria, prints, indulgences as gifts to their homes and their parish temples. In the exhibition, this phenomenon is illustrated by a magnificent Proskynetarion of 1857.