On Friday, August 30, the Matica Srpska Gallery had the honor of being visited by Mr. Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic of France, in the company of Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, the President of the Republic of Serbia
The President of the Republic of France was welcomed by Dr. Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, manager of the Matica Srpska Gallery, prof. Dr. Dragan Stanić, President of Matica Srpska, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, President of the Provincial Government of Vojvodina Maja Gojković and Mayor of Novi Sad Milan Đurić.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, had the opportunity to tour the new permanent exhibition of the Matica Srpska Gallery, which uniquely represents the collection of national art from the 18th to the 20th century, which the Gallery inherits. Observing the exhibited works on the first floor of the Matica Srpska Gallery, President Makron was introduced to the history and biography of this cultural institution by Dr. Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, manager of the GMS, starting with the portrait of Mladi Sava Tekelija, who presents the original idea founder of the Gallery.
Through the works of zograf, Đura Jakšić, Uroš Predić, Paja Jovanović, Sava Šumanović and many other artists, the presidents first got acquainted with the history of the Gallery from its establishment in 1847 until 2022, when the 175th anniversary of its establishment was celebrated.
Also, through the exhibition rooms, they observed the chronology of national art, from the 18th to the 20th century, and ended the tour with a tour of the exhibition room where the most important works of art in the GMS collection were presented. In the ceremonial hall, where there are portraits of the previous managers, the presidents signed the book of impressions. Mr. Macron expressed his deep gratitude to the Gallery team and his enthusiasm for the cultural heritage he had the opportunity to see. He pointed out that he was extremely glad that he had the opportunity to see how the people built their identity through national art, and his attention was drawn to the icons of the zograf, the works of Đura Jakšić, Uroš Predić and Bogdan Suput.
Matica Srpska Gallery has prepared a special program for the visit of President Emmanuel Macron and President Aleksandar Vučić, as well as special gifts in the form of the most important publications in Serbian and French.
Matica Srpska Gallery has been fostering Serbian-French relations in the field of culture and art for more than a decade through cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of France, the French Institute in Serbia and Serbian cultural institutions in Paris.