With the exhibition “Seventy Years of the Art Museum”, on the four floors of the Montenegrin Gallery of Art Miodrag Dado Đurić, the National Museum of Montenegro celebrates the jubilee anniversary – 70 years of the Art Museum’s existence, with a selection of works from its holdings, most of which have not been exhibited so far or very rarely. In addition to the permanent exhibition of the Art Museum, exhibited in the Government House, this exhibition provides a unique opportunity for the general public to gain an insight into the cross-section of museum material that has been collected, preserved and inherited by the Art Museum, i.e. the National Museum of Montenegro.
The exhibition features 134 authors of different generations, that is, 175 works in different expressive media and techniques.
“And as it usually happens when it comes to ’round’ numbers, we are looking back, recapitulating what has been achieved. From the idea of founding the Art Museum to the realization of the given idea is a long road, the beginnings of which can be seen in the post-war years of the last century. In an enthusiastic time of all kinds of progress, striking cultural institutions are founded, some of which will survive the ‘test’ of time, last and survive to this day, and some, unfortunately, will be abolished in the wake of development. Long ago, in 1946, the Art School in Cetinje, the Association of Fine Artists of Montenegro was founded and more and more frequently initiated the formation of the Art Gallery, with the formal opening of which in 1950, the life of today’s Art Museum of Montenegro began”, wrote the director of the National Museum, Dr. Anastazija, in the foreword of the catalog Miranović.
“From the initial art fund of the Gallery, consisting of 240 works, its permanent and continuous enrichment, through purchases, assignments by other institutions, donations and gifts, resulted in today’s number of over four thousand works in the ownership/custody of the Art/National Museum of Montenegro Above. Originally located in the so-called Blue Castle – a former and current residential building, in the 1970s it was moved to the premises of the Government House, where the permanent exhibition, depot and administration of the Art Museum are still located,” Miranović points out.
“The art museum is structured in several heterogeneous collections: Montenegrin fine arts, Yugoslav fine arts, icons, copies of frescoes, caricatures, foreign authors, as well as a gift – collections – Artists of Yugoslavia Njegoš and the Vukmanović Collection. The permanent exhibition in the Government House represents the backbone of the exhibition segment of the Art Museum. The Art Museum organizes exhibitions of limited duration in three areas of the National Museum – the Miodrag-Dado Đurić Montenegrin Gallery, the Dado Studio and the ground floor of the Njegoš Museum. “The art museum is a heritage and several legacies of famous Montenegrin artists: Marko Brežanin, Miloš Vušković, Voj Stanić, Miodrag-Dada Đurić, Luka Tomanović, Branko – Filo Filipović,” says Miranović.
The head of the Art Museum of the National Museum of Montenegro, Mirjana Dabović-Pejović, explains the concept of the exhibition in her text in the catalog.
“The selection of works presented at this exhibition on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Art Museum aims to present a lesser-known part of the fund, which, by the nature of things, the public has relatively few opportunities to get to know. As in all museums and in the NMCG, a significant number of works rarely leave the museum depot. For many there is no place in a permanent exhibition, while others do not fit into the concepts of occasional exhibitions. The 70th anniversary of the founding of the Art Museum is a real opportunity to raise this aspect of program activity to a higher level and to present this museum treasure in a comprehensive way. Given its size, the oldest and lesser-known part of the fund was set aside for this occasion. With this, we want to highlight the somewhat forgotten protagonists of Montenegrin modern art in the public eye, but also point out the pioneering efforts in building the institutional framework from which today’s Art Museum was born.”
The opening of the exhibition will be held online via the YouTube channel of the National Museum (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDJ4FzTCyL9OpVFhH3nC0BQ), on Monday, December 28 at 2 p.m. The exhibition will be opened by the director of the National Museum, Dr. Anastazija Miranović, in compliance with the current health measures to combat the corona virus pandemic.
The exhibition “Seventy Years of the Art Museum” in the Montenegrin Art Gallery “Miodrag Dado Đurić” will be on display until March 31, 2021.