site.btaExhibition Dedicated to Jaroslav Vesin Will Open at National Assembly Sept 17

The exhibition Ahoy, Do You Know Vesin? dedicated to Czech painter who lived and worked in Bulgaria, Jaroslav Vesin (1860–1915), will be unveiled at the National Assembly on September 17, the organizers from the State Archives Agency announced Friday. The exhibition marks the 165th anniversary of the artist's birth and 110 years since his death.

The State Archives Agency exhibits original documents from the artist's personal archive, kept in the Central State Archives. The focus is on his early works depicting scenes from Slovak life, as well as his first works created after he settled in Sofia in 1897.

The exhibition also includes original works – studies and sketches, as well as photographs from the artist's memorial exhibition, organized in 1920 in Sofia. The exhibition is curated by Dimitar Popov, and the artistic design is by Asen Todorov from the State Archives Agency, according to the organizers.

Born in Vrany, Austrian Empire, Jaroslav Vesin studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, moved to the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in 1881 and graduated there in 1883. In the 1880s and 90s he gained recognition for his paintings of the period mainly related to Slovak village life. Vesin arrived in Bulgaria in 1897 at the invitation of Education Minister Konstantin Velichkov and Ivan Mrkvicka to teach at the newly established state Drawing School. Vesin laid the foundations of battle painting in Bulgaria and created iconic canvases such as The Samara Flag (1911), Bayonet Charge (1913) and The Turkish Retreat at Lyuleburgaz (1913). He was Bulgaria's first court and military painter, depicting both Prince Ferdinand and ordinary soldiers. He died in 1915 in Sofia, leaving a significant legacy in Bulgarian painting.