Permanent Art Exhibition of the Dolenjska Museum

The Permanent Art Exhibition of the Dolenjska Museum, after many years of waiting, has finally gained its own exhibition space in Jakčev Dom. The works of art in the exhibition, which cover the period from the 17th century to the 20th century, do not permit a concise presentation of every single artistic movement and its development, and we have therefore tried to present the selected exhibits in a such a way as to reflect their level of representation in our museum. The selection was dictated above all by the quality of the works, and thus the works chosen are those that should communicate to the visitor the essential features of the artistic development of past centuries. The hanging of the works in the exhibition has not been dictated exclusively by chronology or content but allows an interweaving of both criteria. The older works are for the most part the fruit of the creative zeal of unknown artists to whom unfortunately we are unable to ascribe famous names, although this does not diminish their importance. The core section of works of the highest quality, unfortunately not the most numerous group, consists of works from the 17th and 18th centuries. Particularly worthy of note are the carved and painted portable winged altar bearing the date 1651 and the still life with two vases that some experts attribute to the Venetian painter Francesco Guardi – this however has not been proved, and it is therefore better to leave the author of this image cloaked in anonymity and under the provisional name of Pseudo-Guardi. The bourgeois realism of the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century is the dominant period in terms of the number of works included in the exhibition. It is our wish that every single work of art in the exhibition should come to life before us like a world unto itself. The works may differ in terms of period and place, and in terms of quality, but nevertheless each is a unique and unrepeatable witness to the artistic desires of the age that produced it.

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Psevdo – Guardi:
Vases with flowers,
oil, mid-18th century