Absurd at the Louvre: museum cancels an exhibition on art in Bulgaria after pressure from Bulgarian nationalists

Clamorous decision by the Louvre to cancel an exhibition scheduled between June and November, dedicated toart in Bulgaria between the 16th and 18th centuries, following pressure from Bulgarian nationalists and the Slavic country’s Orthodox Church. In particular, as reported by Agence France-Presse, the nationalist VMRO (Bulgarian National Movement) party, which is part of the governing coalition with a 9 percent share, reportedly called the exhibition a “mockery” and an “insult” simply because it would explore the influences of Islam on the country’s art during those years.

The nationalists were then joined by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which refused to lend its works for this exhibition (although the official reason lies in the fact that the Synod does not want to exhibit works that are objects of worship at the Louvre, which should not be moved except for religious reasons). Already in recent days, the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture had suggested to the Louvre that it would be better to cancel the exhibition because of the “reactions of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and public opinion.”

It seems that the bone of contention is the way the exhibition would have presented Islamic influences: according to the Bulgarians, the weight on display would have been disproportionate. Historian Emanuil Mutafov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (and government adviser), said in a speech on bTV television, as France-Presse always reports, that “the influence of Islam on Christians in Bulgaria has been indirect, sporadic, and limited,” and consequently could not have formed the basis for an exhibition at the Louvre (which, again according to Mutafov, would thus be guilty of inaccurate interpretation of Bulgaria’s history), nor would it have been appropriate to display Bulgarian Christian icons of the time in the Louvre’s section devoted to Islamic art.

About sixty objects, including icons, manuscripts, jewelry and sculptures, from the years between 1396 and 1878, that is, when Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule, would have gone on display. A Louvre spokesman confirmed the cancellation to ArtNews magazine, but the museum preferred not to comment further.

Pictured: the Louvre. Ph. Credit

Absurd at the Louvre: museum cancels an exhibition on art in Bulgaria after pressure from Bulgarian nationalists

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