Permanent Exhibitions in the Palffy Palace

Gothic Painting and Sculpture

To compliment the architectural aspect of Gothic art as represented in Palffy Palace by several preserved fragments, an even more attractive, although not as extensive (only 19 works), permanent exhibit, the Exhibition og Gothic wooden Murals and Carvings is being presented. Three centuries (the 14th – 16th centuries) of the creativity of ourforbears are documented through such wooden murals, carvings and reliefs – as they have been preserved in the collection of Bratislava City Gallery – without claiming in the least to give a complete picture of the development of Gothic art in Slovakia.

Presented here is Vajnorska madona (from around 1320), making it the oldest creation in the Gallery´s collection. From the 15th century is „The Baptism of Christ“ a relief probably originally placed from the screen of the altar that once stood in St. Martin ´s Cathedral and today no longer exist. An interesting example of the combination of two creative streams of Gothic sculpture is the polychromized Madona with child from the second half of 15th century. And finaly, from the 16th century is the extensive wooden mural The Annunciation an example of late Gothic painted work dating from 1517.

The City Gallery of Bratislava, the Palffy Palace, Panska 19, open daily Tu – Su 11 – 18

The 19th Central European Painting and Sculpture

The exhibition outlines the development of artistic creation in the region of Central Europe from the beginning of the 19th century to the late 1880s with emphasis on the region of Bratislava as it has been preserved in the collections of Bratislava City Gallery. The names of well-known artists, such as Gottlieb Rähmel, Friedrich J. Lieder, Ferdinand von Lütgendorff, Friedrich Amerling, Carl Marko, Giacomo Marastoni, Viktor Tilgner and Jan Fadrusz guarantee a high quality artistic production.

Art development in Bratislava was influenced by the closeness of Vienna. From the aspect of styles, a transition from Classicism to Art Nouveau, Romanticism and to realistic tendencies is noticeable. Portrait and landscape are the major subject matter and the works display an increasing interest in still life, genre and historical scenes.

The City Gallery of Bratislava, the Palffy Palace, Panska 19, open daily Tu – Su 11 – 18