SOFIA.- The Metamorphoses Exhibition presents 80 sculptures by Auguste Rodin and 20 drawings of his from the collection of the Musée Rodin in Paris, displayed in Bulgaria for the first time. This project, initiated by Catherine Chevillot, Director of the Musée Rodin, 18 months ago, includes some of the most well-known and highly valued works of the “father of modern sculpture” as well as some relatively rare works, which have never been exhibited in front of the general public.

Divided in six separate sections, the exhibition allows us to cover Rodin’s overall work. The visitors will be able to see figures from “The Gates of Hell”, “Fragmentation of the Figures”, “Assemblages” and “Enlargements” – some key techniques in the artist’s approach. The role of the pedestal is also shown as a means of glorifying some of the sculptures; there are also drawings, which had a central role in Rodin’s creative process.

The exhibition is a co-production between the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture and the French Institute in Bulgaria, in partnership with Sofia Municipality, Ministry of Transport, Groupama, Sopharma and Citroen.

The curators of the exhibition are Sophie Biass-Fabiani, curator at the Musée Rodin, and Boris Danailov, counsellor of the Bulgarian Minister of Culture.

The National Museum of Bulgarian Art is the largest and most respectable institution of its kind in Bulgaria. Over the years, it has established its position as a center for national cultural heritage and values. The collection was started in 1892 when the People’s Museum of Archeology founded its Department of Art. By virtue of an express resolution of the Council of Ministers in 1948 NMBA (National Art Gallery) was pronounced an independent entity.

The museum’s collection of New and Contemporary Bulgarian art from the period since Bulgaria’s Liberation in 1878 up to the 1990s consists of more than 30 000 individual pieces of paintings, prints and sculptures. The collection of paintings by Bulgarian masters is the most comprehensive. The collection of black and white drawings is also very rich. The museum’s expositions feature some of the best achievements of Bulgarian sculptors of the 20th century.