Description of the attraction
The Strossmayer Gallery is a fine arts museum located in the capital of Croatia. The gallery presents to the attention of visitors a collection of paintings donated to the city by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1884. The gallery reserves are about 4,000 works, of which only about 250 are presented for inspection, and the rest are stored or exhibited in other museums or galleries in Croatia.
The Strossmayer Old Masters Gallery opened in November 1884 and was named after its founder. The gallery itself, with the bishop as patron saint, was created in 1860 and moved to a specially built premises for it in 1880.
Bishop Strossmayer acquired paintings for 30 years, since his appointment as Bishop of Dyakovo in 1850. He started with Italian art, mostly Renaissance works from Florence and Venice. In 1870 he switched to 17th century art. In 1868, he decided to donate his collection to the Croatian people, transferring it to the Academy. The gallery was opened to the public in November 1884 and featured 256 works of art.
Over the years, the gallery's prestigious collection has attracted more and more donations, including from contemporary artists. In 1934, expansion led to the creation of the Gallery of Modern Art to house later works.
The Strossmayer Gallery showcases works by European artists of the 14-19th centuries. All works have been divided into three main groups: Italian, French and Northern Europe (German, Flemish and Dutch).
In addition to the paintings, the Museum also houses the legendary Baska Tablet, which is the oldest extant example of a Glagolitic script and possibly the most important artifact in Croatia.
A large statue of Bishop Strossmayer by Ivan Meštrovic is located in the park behind the Academy.
