Dezider Milly Gallery, Svidník

The Dezider Milly Gallery (Galéria Dezidera Millyho) is the art-historical exhibition of the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidník, part of the Slovak National Museum. It traces the development of folk and professional art of the Ukrainians of Slovakia from the 16th century to the present, and its greatest treasure is the icon collection, among the oldest and most valuable holdings of the museum.

The gallery is housed in a former manor house (kaštieľ) on the left bank of the Ladomirka river. It was originally a single-storey Renaissance building of the 17th century; at the end of the 18th century it was remodelled in the late Baroque style and in the 19th century in a Classicist spirit. The house has a mansard roof, its façade is decorated with relief panels and window surrounds, and the central projection is topped by a triangular pediment. The exhibition opened in 1983.

What to see

• Icons of the 16th–18th centuries – the core of the exhibition. Works from the region's wooden churches are shown in chronological order, so you can see how icon painting changed, from austere early images to Baroque icons in rich carved frames. Among them are rows of apostles from old iconostases and images of the Mother of God from the late 17th century.
• The Transcarpathian school of painting. Its founders Adalbert Erdélyi and Józef Boksay also taught several artists from Slovakia; the gallery shows their work as well as pieces by V. Borecký, Fedir Manailo and Andrii Kotska.
• 20th-century artists of the Ukrainians of Slovakia – of the older and younger generations, including I. Kulec, O. Dubay, Š. Hapák, A. Gaj, M. Čabala and others.
• The work of Dezider Milly (1906–1971) – the central hall. A National Artist of Czechoslovakia and one of the founders of modern Slovak painting from the so-called "Generation of 1909", he was proud of his Ukrainian origins. His canvases stand out for their variety of themes and techniques, their poetry and their deep insight into village people; his contribution to Slovak landscape painting is considered especially valuable. Milly was born in 1906 in the village of Kyjov in the Prešov region into a priest's family, studied in Prešov and Prague, taught in Orlov and Plaveč, and from 1946 lived in Bratislava, where he became a professor and, in 1952, rector of the Academy of Fine Arts.

The museum also holds temporary exhibitions in the gallery.

Practical information

The gallery is on Partizánska Street, about 600 metres from the main building of the Museum of Ukrainian Culture – both exhibitions are easy to see on foot in one morning. Svidník lies on road I/21 from Prešov to the Dukla Pass; there is no railway in the town, so it is best reached by car or bus. The gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday, an adult ticket costs €3 and refugees from Ukraine enter free of charge; the combined ticket covers all three exhibitions of the museum. 45–60 minutes is enough for a visit. It is a quiet, intimate exhibition that will most appeal to those interested in icon painting and Carpathian art; photography is allowed for a small extra fee.

Nearby: trails and peaks

The Pred Čuntavou – Dukliansky Pass and Svidník – Baňa routes pass through Svidník. In town, also see the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidník and the open-air museum with the Church of St Paraskeva, and icons in their original setting in the Wooden Church of St Michael the Archangel, Ladomirová, 4 km from the gallery.

Official website: snm.sk

Photos: Viacheslav Galievskyi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Peter Zelizňák, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; ??? (sculptor) - cc-by-3.0 Peter Zelizňák (photo), CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; ??? (sculptor) - cc-by-3.0 Peter Zelizňák (photo), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.