AN EXHIBITION of Slovak Gothic art called With Gold and Fire (D'Or et de Feu. L'art en Slovaquie a la Fin du Moyen Age) opened in the Cluny Museum, the French museum of the Middle Ages, in Paris on September 14. The exhibit was unveiled by Slovak Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer and is under the patronage of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič, the TASR newswire wrote.
The exhibition was organised by the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, the Association of National Museums of Paris, and by the Cluny. The curator of the exhibition, Dušan Buran, praised the Cluny as an ideal site for Gothic art to be shown.
“It presents 66 gems of historical heritage that enable visitors to the very cradle of Gothic art to get to know Slovak art from the end of the Middle Ages”, Buran told the Sme daily. The works of art are from various Slovak and foreign museums and galleries and for the first time from several religious institutions.
“Some [churches] were helpful but sometimes the negotiations were tough and we failed to find consensus. But we were also lucky. The unique work, Crucified, by Master Paul from Levoča that is housed in a church in Kežmarok and has never been loaned for exhibitions, is available at the moment due to the church’s renovation so it has travelled to Paris,” Buran said.
Installation of the artworks has been difficult, as the premises themselves are a historical monument, and it is not possible to hammer a single nail. “The whole exhibition has been literally inserted into the space,” Buran explained. The works will be on show for the public until January 11, 2011.
20. Sep 2010 at 0:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff , Compiled from press reports by Spectator staff
