Loran Gallery marks 140 years since the birth of Vladimir Dimitrov - Maystora, one of the greatest Bulgarian painters. Much can be said about him but words are not enough for an artist and creativity of such magnitude. He remains in the Bulgarian plastic culture with his emblematic works as a symbol of the native. His female images are the embodiment of beauty and moral sublimity.

The exhibition situated in our gallery space at Oborishte 16 presents unshown works from the gallery's collection. There are inspiring picturesque portraits, large and small-format drawings of famous paintings, poster designs and applied graphics.

The project for a poster drawn on parchment paper which states "Long live peace among nations" sounds relevant in view of the current complex international situation. The message, clear and unambiguous, is contained not only in the inscription, but also in the imagery. Universal symbols and gestures, the dove of peace, children with raised hands in a prayer position, etc. were used.

Another work, with focus on the applied art, deserves special attention because of its modern plastic solution. It presents a double portrait of the communist leader Georgi Dimitrov, probably an original poster project. The work is a rare example of Bulgarian art, created for propaganda purposes, which differs from the principles of normative aesthetics of the late 40s of the twentieth century. Undoubtedly it is part of the era in which it was created and at the same time stands free-thinking. We are surprised by the idea to combine two multicolored contour silhouettes, outlined only in the shadow and semi-shadow of the character. This creates rhythm, movement and depth in the composition but also a poster like imagery. The outlines resemble a decorative ornament and give austerity to the frowning expression.

We started the description of the exhibition with two works from the late 40s but the real highlights of the exhibition are among the rich characters of the portraits, in which the majority of models are relatives, friends and acquaintances of the artist. Three of them have similar plastic characteristics but are transmitted with a moderate dose of expression.

The work which is the center of attention is "Girls among poppies". It belongs to the compositions of children's portraits with a background of flowers. Compositions that in the works of Maystora are a symbol of tenderness, freshness, youth and growth. The painting has a valuable family history and enters our collection from Croatia after long negotiations.The painting’s past is connected with the fate of a doctor who loves art and received it as a gift in the mid-30’s from a grateful patients who got it from Maystora. The owner keeps it for years, hung in the same place in the house. His granddaughter remembers the story, which lasted more than 80 years, and tells it willingly. A success for the gallery’s team is that we travelled to Zagreb to buy and return the canvas to its homeland.

Part of the exhibition are two large-format drawings, which are preparations for famous paintings. The first is a preliminary drawing for the work "Baba Mitra from the village of Divlya" familir to us from the Kyustendil Art Gallery. The next is a drawing with charcoal on parchment paper of an old man carrying a hoe with a pitcher on his shoulder, preparation for "Peasant with a hoe" from the Sofia City Art Gallery.

We can gladly tell something about each work but it is best to let the paintings speak for themselves as you visit our exhibition hall. The works are diverse, some even provocative.

We remain hopeфул that you will like what is on display in the gallery and we are convinced  that we are adding yet another touch to the image of Maystora.

Maryana Avramova

Lavren Petrov