The Gallery of Oriental Art
Located on the third floor of the National Museum of Art of Romania central building on Calea Victoriei, alongside the European Decorative Arts Gallery, the Oriental Art Gallery shows nearly 600 art objects from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Dagestan, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Japan, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The pieces are selected from the most significant and valuable collection of Oriental and Far Eastern art in the country, managed by NMAR.
The creation of this new permanent exhibition, unique in Romania, is the result of a collaborative effort involving museum curators, conservators, restorers, technicians and management as well as several partners, sponsors, and donors who supported the project over time: the "Friends of NMAR" Association, JTI, BRD Groupe Societe Generale, Camelia Șucu, Raiffeisen BANK, Coca-Cola Romania, Romcar, Banca Comercială Română, Tomini Trading, TNT Romania, Solmar Trading Group, Soft Medica, Romtelecom, Unilever, Veronica Savanciuc, ITH Management Office, CitiBank Romania, Leadership Development Romania, National Bank of Romania, Topo Capital Corporation, Domeniile Sâmburești and AQUA Carpatica.
Exhibition "Tadeusz Kantor – Always and Everywhere an Artist"
As part of the Poland-Romania Cultural Season 2024-2025,
The National Museum of Art of Romania (NMAR), in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute from Warsaw, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Cricoteka (Center for the Documentation of Tadeusz Kantor’s Art), and the Polish Institute in Bucharest, presents the exhibition:
"Tadeusz Kantor – Always and Everywhere an Artist"
Curated by Dr. Maria Anna Potocka, Director of MOCAK
The exhibition will be open from 20 October 2024 to 9 March 2025.
The opening event will take place on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at 16:00, on the ground floor of the National Gallery of NMAR, Calea Victoriei no. 49-53, Bucharest.
Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990) was one of the most important Polish artists, with a significant contribution to the revolutionizing of both Polish and global theater, as well as a remarkable avant-garde activity in the field of visual arts.
For the first time in Romania, this exhibition will highlight the versatility and complexity of this artist by showcasing the main directions he pursued as director, set designer, actor in his own plays, creator of happenings, painter and theorist.
The exhibition will feature 25 paintings, assemblages, sculptures and sculptural set designs for theater plays from the MOCAK collection along with 57 photographs taken between 1980-1990 and documenting his plays, including photographic portraits, offering an extensive perspective on this fascinating creator.
Throughout the exhibition, a rich program of related events will be presented, co-organized by NMAR and the Tadeusz Kantor Art Documentation Center – Cricoteka. On 21-25 October 2024 workshops entitled “Costume in Tadeusz Kantor’s Theatrical Toolkit” will be held, led by Bogdan Renczyński, an actor at Cricot 2 Theater. In February 2025 the exhibition halls will host the art installation “Personal Space” featuring projected slides of Kantor’s theatrical costumes. “Personal Space” will become a venue for meetings and workshops conducted over several days by Justyna Droń, a theater educator and creator of Cricoteka educational program. Participants will have the opportunity to interact individually with Tadeusz Kantor’s costumes, dye fabrics, create collages, apply symbols and print drawings.
Additionally, screenings of Kantor’s iconic plays will be organized, from ”The Dead Class” (1976) to ”Today is My Birthday” (1991). The screenings will take place at NMAR on 25 October 2024, 22 November 2024, 13 December 2024, 17 January 2025 and 21 February 2025.
The exhibition is also part of the National Theater Festival taking place in Bucharest at various venues on 18-28 October 2024. Partner: UNITER (https://fnt.ro/2024/).
Reopening of The European Decorative Art Gallery, 15th of January 2024
With an area of over 400 square meters, the European Decorative Art Gallery, composed of six rooms, illustrates four centuries of history of taste and refinement, innovations, manufactures and European craftsmen from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Russia from the 16th-19th centuries and completes the museum's permanent exhibition, alongside the European Art Gallery and the National Gallery.
Included in the exhibition is a wonderful marriage box made in Dresden in 1586, ceramics from the famous faience factories of Delft (Netherlands), Manises (Spain), Montelupo Fiorentino and Savona (Italy), Rouen, Moustiers and Sèvres (France), Meissen (Germany), Provençal furniture and French tapestries, as well as special silver pieces alongside the famous Bohemian crystal glasses. The craftsmanship of Russian craftsmen can be admired in the delicate cloisonné silver pieces, the niello silver glasses or the Punch Bowl made by the famous Fabergé workshop. Also, a precious collection of watches illustrates the excellence of jewelers and watchmakers from the most important workshops in Europe.
The presence of these objects in Romania attests to the fact that our country has always been in a European circuit of exchanges of cultural values.
Europe was not only the space for the manifestation of secular practices in the artistic field, but also a place where the creative input from other continents merged into defining expressions of the exceptionality of the human spirit. These varied cultural influences have, over time, contributed to the definition of a European identity that is also reflected in the gallery display.
The opening of the European Decorative Art Gallery is due to a passionate and involved team from the National Art Museum of Romania, made up of museographers, conservators, restorers and technicians, but also to an important contribution of sponsors and partners without whom this far-reaching project would not be possible. would have been possible: Association "Friends of MNAR", Raiffeisen BANK, Camelia Șucu, Coca-Cola Romania, Romcar, Banca Comercială Română, Tomini Trading, TNT Romania, Solmar Trading Group, Soft Medica, Romtelecom, Unilever, Veronica Savanciuc, ITH Management Office, CitiBank Romania, Leadership Development Romania, Banca Națională a României, Topo Capital Corporation.
The spaces that house this gallery have gone through an extensive redevelopment process, being heavily affected by the earthquake in 1986 and the fire in 1989. The opening required the creation of showcases in accordance with the latest standards in the field, ensuring both security and high standard display.
The European Decorative Art Gallery benefits, for the first time, from a digital component, the MyMNAR application, to be used during the visit in the gallery to complement the exhibition course in an interactive way.
Access to the European Decorative Art Gallery is through entrance A2, floor 3, Calea Victoriei 49-53, Bucharest, Wednesday - Friday, 10:00 - 18:00 and Saturday- Sunday, 11:00 - 19:00.
Discover our collections!
The National Museum of Art of Romania, the Art Collections Museum, the Theodor Pallady Museum and the K. H. Zambaccian Museum can be visited from Wednesday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 18:00.
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The National Museum of Art of Romania is the country’s prime holder of Romanian, European and Oriental art. Located in the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, it includes the National Gallery (Romanian medieval and modern art) and the European Art Gallery. Apart from numerous temporary exhibitions, visitors can also join guided tours of the former Throne Hall and other spaces of historical relevance.
The Art Collections Museum, the K.H. Zambaccian Museum and the Theodor Pallady Museum are equally part of the National Museum of Art of Romania.
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The European Decorative Art Gallery
Divided into six rooms, illustrates four centuries of the history of taste and refinement, of European innovations, manufactures and craftsmen from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Russia of the 16th-19th centuries and completes the museum's permanent collections, together with the European Art Gallery and the National Gallery.
The Stories of the Cross: Miniature Sculpture of Byzantine Tradition
Curator: Lucreția Pătrășcanu
The Art Collections Museum
Inaugurated in 1978 as a Department of the National Museum of Art of Romania, the Art Collections Museum showcases artistic interests that prevailed in Romanian society from the early 20th century onward. Over 30 collections on permanent display incorporate a variety of art pieces and collectibles, ranging from Romanian and European fine and decorative arts to Oriental art. Donated over nearly a century by both collectors and artists, they bear witness to their owners’ taste and economic power, their leaning toward famous names or contemporary art, as well as to the artists’ particular interests, surroundings, and daily studio practice. Works by well-known Romanian painters such as Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Ioan Andreescu, Nicolae Tonitza, Gheorghe Petraşcu, Theodor Pallady, Lucian Grigorescu, Iosif Iser, Camil Ressu, Francisc Şirato, Alexandru Ciucurencu, Dimitrie Ghiaţă are exhibited alongside European and Japanese prints and drawings, French furniture, Oriental carpets, and folk icons from Transylvania. This unique museum is hosted by the former Romanit palace. The building, an example of modern Bucharest architecture, was recently restored and refurbished. Wherever possible, displays suggest the original layout and atmosphere of individual collections.
