Alex S.
Google
Verdict : An art museum does not have to be the Uffizi or the Louvre to be a good museum. This is a good regional museum of art that has plenty of works by local artists (Boris Denev, the gallery's namesake artist, was from Veliko Tarnovo) and about local scenes, updated facility, welcoming and professional staff, and signage in English. Storytelling could be better but it's on the right track. Worth an hour or two to visit and learn more about the city, the region, and Bulgarian art.
Details:
It's by the Assen dynasty monument on the island and you can't miss it. Two floors in total, each floor has two wings, and each wing has both sculptures and paintings by artists from the region around Veliko Tarnovo or works about VT or episodes in Bulgarian history that happened in the area. Facility has updated temperature control and lighting fixtures, so no annoying glares for the most part. Every work has a bilingual label in English and Bulgarian with the key info, so you know what you are actually looking at. Several rooms are organized around themes, and each theme is explored in more detail on a board that gives an overview of the works and context of the theme. There's no individual narrative (e.g. who's the painter or sculptor, what were their ideas for the work) for any painting or sculpture, but the overall intro is mostly sufficient for the backstory and context. We learned quite a few new things about the town, the region, and Bulgarian art from the time of medieval icons to contemporary works.
Protips:
- You can pay by card.
- There's no cloakroom or bag storage.
- Most sculptures are on the ground floor, paintings are on the first floor.
