In November 2025, the National Museum of Modern Art will present the second in a series of exhibitions from its virtual program. This exhibition showcases works by unknown artists from the Museum's collection, resulting from the collaborative efforts of museum advisor and curator Dr. Ivana Rončević Elezović, Marija Kalmeta (former restorer at the National Museum of Modern Art), restorers Ana Dumbović and Sonja Pavin, under the leadership of the head of the museum's conservation and restoration department, Mr. Art. Petra Kursar. Until her retirement in January 2025, museum advisor Dajana Vlaisavljević also collaborated with this team.

The former Collection of Unknown Artists in the holdings of the National Museum of Modern Art is particularly intriguing from a conservation-restoration perspective, as well as for provenance research of the artworks. The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb.

One hundred and twenty-four works from the former Collection of Unknown Artists and Undated Works in the holdings of the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb represent a fascinating selection, previously unknown to both experts and the wider public. The collection includes portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, interiors, animal depictions, mythological and genre scenes, religious themes, still life, nudes, and exotic examples such as a few woodcuts with Japanese motifs. Most of these works date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Stylistically, they belong to the Biedermeier, Classicism, Romanticism, and Realism movements, along with some examples that reflect early 20th-century avant-garde tendencies.

A pleasant surprise during the collection review was the solid artistic and technical quality of a significant number of works. The exhibition aims to conduct a thorough professional analysis and presentation of this artistic material through detailed examination and imaging of the paintings, as well as studying archival sources and scholarly literature. Since this collection has never been exhibited before, providing insight into its contents will make a valuable contribution to the understanding of the holdings of the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb. Additionally, this is an opportunity for the thorough restoration of these artworks. Throughout this process, we anticipate a series of intriguing discoveries related to the paintings, as conservation and restoration interventions often reveal hidden details.  Ivana Rončević Elezović, Phd,  Museum Advisor, National Museum of Modern Art

Reproductions: (left) Portrait of Countess Oršić Keglević MG-3060, oil on canvas, 73 x 54 cm, visible light, photograph before conservation-restoration work (right) UV fluorescence image
Photo: Jovan Kliska