National Gallery – Square 500 presents unique collection of Western European tapestries

For the first time, a unique collection of Western European textile panels (tapestries) is on display at the National Gallery – Square 500. The exhibits were added to the collection in the 1960s by the Bulgarian National Bank as part of the holdings of the unrealized National Gallery of Decorative and Applied Arts.  They belong to the golden period of the 16th–18th centuries of the two most prominent schools: the Flemish and the French.

The tapestry – an extremely expensive to produce hand-loomed panel with colourful images – is used for decoration and wall insulation in palaces and castles. Tapestries, with their splendour, adorn private and public spaces and are signs of power and prestige.

The research and preparation of the tapestries for public display lasted for over a year at the Conservation and Restoration Laboratory of the National Gallery, with funding from the Ministry of Culture and in partnership with the French Institute in Bulgaria and the National Academy of Art. The exhibition will be open to the public until August 3, 2025.