Georges Papazoff
From the Gueorgui Vassilev Collection
90 Years Later

Curated by Maria Vassileva
May 6 – June 1, 2025

To mark the 90th anniversary of the exhibition of Bulgarian painter Georges Papazoff at the Modern Gallery (December 17, 1934 – January 4, 1935), which featured 57 works created between 1929 and 1934, the National Museum of Modern Art presents a selection of paintings from the Guergui Vassilev Collection at the Josip Račić Gallery. This exhibition also includes The Light Bearers, a work owned by the National Museum of Modern Art.

Croatian art critic Ivo Šrepel once described Papazoff as one of the most important and renowned European artists of the time:
"With the organization of Georges Papazoff's exhibition in Zagreb, the Croatian Art Society is presenting to the public one of the brightest representatives of the generation of idealistic painters from Western Europe. Papazoff’s powerful individuality continued to evolve and transform the Cubism of Picasso, Braque, Delaunay, Gris, and Léger, the Purism of Ozenfant and Jeanneret, the Dadaism of Picabia and Duchamp, as well as the Surrealism of Miró, Klee, and Hoerle.”

About the Artist
Georges (Georgi) Papazoff was born on February 2, 1894, in Yambol, Bulgaria, and passed away in 1972 in Vence, France. He lived in Prague, Vienna, Munich, and Berlin before settling in Paris in 1924. According to the Dictionary of Surrealism (1982) by writer and art historian Edouard Jaguer, “Papazoff is undoubtedly one of the forerunners of what we now call 'abstract surrealism' in the mid-1920s, alongside Miró, Ernst, Malkine, and Masson.”

Endowed with boundless imagination, Papazoff embarked on journeys through various stylistic directions and realms of consciousness. He embodied the spirit of discovery and experimentation that characterized the first half of the 20th century. A true exemplar of the universal artistic movements of the time, when borders were fluid and art served as a powerful unifying force, his oeuvre continues to transcend national boundaries and fosters a multilingual dialogue on authentic artistic values.

Reproductions:
Georges Papazoff, Composition – La Famille, 1925, oil on canvas, 116 x 89 cm / © From the Gueorgui Vassilev Collection
Georges Papazoff, Passenger Boats, 1931, oil on canvas, 116 x 89 cm / © From the Gueorgui Vassilev Collection
Georges Papazoff, The Light Bearers, 1929, oil on canvas, 162.2 x 129.8 cm / National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, Inv. No. MG-1256 / Photo: Goran Vranić
© National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Cover Image: Georges Papazoff, The Fish, 1946, oil on canvas33 x 47 cm / Photo / © From the Gueorgui Vassilev Collection
Installation View Photo Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb