On the occasion of marking 2022 as the 100th anniversary of the death of Vlaho Bukovac, last Thursday at the House Bukovac, Ph.D. Vinicije B. Lupis, scientific advisor, and head of the Dubrovnik regional Center of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences held a lecture on Bulgarian-Dubrovnik art-historical ties, with an emphasis on Vlaho Bukovac.
Ties between Dubrovnik and Bulgaria date back to the 13th century and with the well-known political connections, they are also reflected through the stay of a Bulgarian blacksmith Georgius Bulgarus in Dubrovnik in 1282. Furthermore, the first Renaissance painting in Bulgaria, a 16th century Our Lady with Christ, from the Armenian Church of St. Kevorka in Plovdiv is associated with the Dubrovnik art circle.
The National Gallery in Sofia has several works from Vlaho Bukovac and Celestin Medović, who influenced the Bulgarian art scene. Vinicije B. Lupis especially emphasized the influence of Dubrovnik as a place of artistic inspiration on the Bulgarian painters Benč Jordan Obreškov and Maria Žekova, who left behind a whole series of Dubrovnik landscapes. There was also talk of other Bulgarian painters, as well as the Constantinople photographer Pascal Sebah, who especially connected Croats and Bulgarians because his Constantinople photo studio portrayed numerous Bulgarian dignitaries, as well as Croatian shipowners. Certainly, the cultural and artistic ties between Dubrovnik and Bulgaria can be traced back from the 13th to the 20th century. They have been more intense in some centuries and represent essential components of both national identities.
Once again we thank Vinicije B. Lupis for this exciting lecture held at the House Bukovac.
