Sacred Art

Art in the past had a variety of functions, essentially different from those it has today. One of the most important was its cultic or religious function, which predominated in the evolving visual culture throughout entire centuries. Thanks to this exposition, you will discover the most precious sacred paintings and sculptures from the Gothic and Baroque periods in the Slovak National Gallery’s collections, complemented with paintings and icons from European art of the 16th to the 19th century.

The exposition will show you a number of themes and aspects associated with religious art, such as Passions, the Holy Family, Popular Piety and the Original and the Copy, and you will stop by a group of the oldest wooden sculptures in Slovakia. Introducing the entire collection, there are two monumental altar screens by Anton Schmidt from Kremnica. They exemplify the context in which images were most often used in Christian liturgy: as part of the altar wholes. A statue group by the contemporary sculptor Ján Zelinka brings the exposition to a conclusion, highlighting a further two important themes of Christian art — Pietà and Iconoclasm.

Although the SNG, among Slovak public institutions, owns what is probably the richest fund of sacred art, its focus on Christian paintings and sculptures somewhat distorts the overall view. We are therefore planning for the exposition to receive regular infusions of works from the religious fields of Islam and Judaism, or artefacts associated with Hinduism and Buddhism. Likewise, over a briefer time span you will have an opportunity also to see drawings, graphic works and photographs, which are more sensitive to long-term exhibition.