The exhibition examines and presents for the first time a trend in Bulgarian art that has hardly ever been studied, namely the representation of animals on their own in visual art and the approaches to the theme adopted by Bulgarian artists. Unlike other genres that did not take long to arrive and establish themselves in Bulgaria after the Liberation, animalism, in its purest form, had a more limited presence. Yet the artworks created within the genre are exceptionally diverse, representing images of animals, mostly birds, in various visual contexts. The exhibition puts specific emphasis on decorative projects completed by students at the National Academy of Art within the course of their studies over the decades until the mid-20^th century. What stands out is the obvious willingness to stylize and make the best of the decorative qualities of colours and shapes. Sculpture is another exhibition highlight, as it is the purest manifestation of animalism in Bulgarian art. The exhibition also sheds light on various transitions from animalism to other genres having made room for animal images. The project presents a huge variety of artworks, namely drawings, sketches, watercolour paintings, illustrations, cartoons, paintings, sculptures, ceramic art. The earliest artworks included in the exhibition, dating from the first half of the 19^th century, are by Zahari Zograf, while the ones concluding the visual narrative of the exhibit were created in the mid-20^th century by David Perez and Georges Papazoff and reveal a significant departure from naturalism. The exhibition features works by Ivan Milev, Vladimir Dimitrov the Master, Ivan Lazarov, Constantine Starkelov, Georgi Popov-John, Ivan Penkov, Ivan Markvichka, Boris Georgiev, Andrei Nikolov, Iliya Petrov, etc. Some of the exhibits go on display for the first time, while others are lesser-known works.

The project was realized in partnership with the Archives State Agency and the National Academy of Art, Sofia with kind support from city galleries across the country and private collectors.

Curators: Dr. Lyuben Domozetski, Dr. Neda Zhivkova, Dr. Stanislava Nikolova