In images, symbols, fears and moral warnings preserved in the frescoes of Bulgarian medieval and Renaissance churches.
From May 20 to June 20, 2026, the Alley in Front of the Aula of NBU will host the exhibition “Sin” by the House of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo.
The exhibition presents scenes from the Last Judgment, the tolls of the soul and moral-didactic compositions in Bulgarian church painting from the 18th–19th centuries.
Through the images of sinners, demons, artisans, sorcerers and allegorical characters, the exhibition reveals how icon painters transformed painting not only into a religious image, but also into a means of moral education, social criticism and spiritual warning.
The exhibition draws attention to the rich visual language of Orthodox art, in which the fear of sin, the idea of retribution and the hope of salvation are intertwined with humor, the grotesque and clearly recognizable human images.
On December 4, in the hall “Prof. Dr. Lyuben Prashkov” of the Veliko Tarnovo University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, the mobile exhibition “Sin” of the Museum of Humor and Satire – Gabrovo was presented.
The event was held by invitation and in partnership with the Orthodox Theological Faculty, which hosts the exhibition.
The opening was attended by the Vice-Rector of the University, Prof. Dr. Vihren Buzov, the Dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty, Prof. Dr. Magdalena Legkostup, deputy deans, lecturers, students, artists and iconographers – which placed the exhibition in a clearly academic and professionally contextualized framework.
The collection, presented under the title “Sin”, includes a total of 50 copies of frescoes and icons related to the theme of sin, made in the 1970s by a team led by art historian Asen Vasiliev. This team also included Professor Lyuben Prashkov – a fact that makes the exhibition of the collection in the hall bearing his name particularly significant.
In Veliko Tarnovo, 28 exhibition pieces presented information about the collection of copies, field studies to locate the originals and interpretations by experts on the subject. The selection makes it possible to trace different visual approaches to the motif of sin in Orthodox art – from stricter moral scenes to those in which elements of criticism, irony and a satirical attitude towards human weaknesses are clearly present. A particularly important context for this collection is the fact that a significant part of the originals from which the copies were made are today severely damaged, altered or inaccessible. Therefore, the copies acquire the value of a visual document and represent a key source for the study of specific mural cycles and iconographic solutions from the second half of the 20th century.
During the presentation, the deputy director of the Museum of Humor and Satire Nela Rachevits outlined the chronology of the creation of the collection and its study 50 years later. The beginning was set in the 1970s at the idea of the satirist and cartoonist Todor Tsonev, who drew attention to the satirical and comical in Bulgarian Renaissance art. On this basis, the museum team began to purposefully search for murals in various temples and monasteries in which reality – and in particular transgressions – are presented in a critical, sometimes grotesque manner.
In 2024, after a team from the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center’s curatorial school began working on an exhibition related to the collection, the museum took the next step: it became clear that in addition to the collected copies, a contemporary narrative was also needed to connect them with today’s audience. Therefore, work on the collection resumed, now with a focus on additional documentation, analysis, and preparation of a future permanent exhibition.
The current stage of the project is being implemented with funding from the Ministry of Culture in 2024. The goal is to build a comprehensive package of materials – archival documents, photographs, expert texts, and field observations – that would serve as the basis for restructuring the presentation of the collection at the Museum of Humor and Satire. Rachevitz emphasized that plans were underway to renovate the museum building, rethink the tourist flow, and create a special space in which the Sin exhibition will be displayed in a permanent format.
The head of the field research for the project, curator Ilina Peneva, presented to the audience the specific steps in the team’s research work. Within the framework of the project, numerous temples and monasteries in the country were visited, where the condition of the original frescoes, changes in the interior of the temples and the reasons for the loss of certain images were monitored. Peneva emphasized that in a number of places the originals are missing entirely or are severely damaged, which makes the available copies not just “reproductions”, but a real basis for reconstructing the visual history of these frescoes. This material is also the basis for decisions on how to exhibit the panels – in a way that preserves the connection between the historical context, the research data and the perception of the modern audience.
The Dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Prof. Dr. Magdalena Legkostup, congratulated the museum team for the consistent work on the project and noted that the inclusion of a theologian in future stages would contribute to an even more complete analysis of the presented scenes and inscriptions. She also drew attention to the possibility of using the exhibition in the education of students of theology, Church history and Christian art. Father Dr. Teodor Enchev, who participated in the symposium (September 2025) related to the project, placed the collection in the context of the time in which it was created – the period of communism. He emphasized that some of the best specialists worked on the copies, and the dimensions and compositions follow the originals with high accuracy. According to him, these images clearly show both the condemnation and ridicule of sin –
humor and grotesque, which the artists of the Bulgarian National Revival used boldly and freely.
In the discussion after the presentation, the participants defined the project as an extremely valuable resource for specialists and for all those who work in the field of visual heritage, church history and cultural heritage. The exhibition “Sin” has already been shown in Dryanovo and is about to continue its journey to other cities and institutions. As part of the long-term work on the project, a bilingual monograph is planned to be published in early January, uniting the images and research texts of experts from various fields. By the end of the year, a specialized website is also expected to be launched, where a significant part of the collected materials will be available.
“Sin – a research and exhibition project” is realized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the VTU “St. Cyril and Methodius” and the Municipal History Museum in the town of Dryanovo, and the media support of the Bulgarian National Radio Program and BTA.
Prof. Dr. Lyuben Prashkov Hall (Hall 13), Building 11 of the University of Veliko Tarnovo.
The Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of Veliko Tarnovo presents a visiting exhibition at the Museum “House of Humor and Satire” – Gabrovo on the topic “SIN” – a contemporary look at the unique museum collection of 50 panels, created in the 1970s, as copies of Renaissance frescoes.
The exhibition was first presented at the Municipal History Museum in Dryanovo, and on December 4 at 2:00 p.m. it will be opened in the “Prof. Dr. Lyuben Prashkov Hall” (Hall 13), Building 11 of the University of Veliko Tarnovo.
The Orthodox Theological Faculty maintains good partnership relations with the museum in Gabrovo, and plans are being made for joint projects in the future.
Half a century later, the museum team is conducting a large-scale study of all the temples from which the original frescoes originate.
Some of them are now severely damaged or lost, which turns the copies into a valuable historical document.
A monograph will be published as part of the project, which will present the entire process of research, analysis and interpretation of the collection as a basis for its future re-exhibition.
The exhibition includes:
– archival materials and reproductions from the collection;
– footage from field research;
– analytical texts by specialists in the fields of art, theology and psychology;
– contemporary interpretations of the place of the theme of sin in our cultural memory.
“Sin – a research and exhibition project” is realized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the University of Applied Sciences “St. Cyril and Methodius” and the Municipal History Museum in the town of Dryanovo, and the media support of the Bulgarian National Radio Program and BTA.
On November 26, the opening of the mobile exhibition “SIN” took place at the Ikonomov House at the Historical Museum – Dryanovo – a key stage in the new research and exhibition project of the Museum of Humor and Satire.
It presents a contemporary look at 50 fresco copies created in the 1970s, through which the theme of sin and its visual manifestations in the Bulgarian church tradition are explored.
The exhibition is organized into 28 panels, tracing the creation of the collection, the path of the images through time and their place in today’s visual imagination.
The Deputy Director of the Museum of Humor and Satire, Nela Ratchevitz, inaugurated the event and emphasized that the mobile exhibition is conceived as an interim “platform for reflection”, which makes visible the results of the ongoing research and prepares the basis for the renewal of the permanent exhibition “Sin”.
She emphasized the museum’s task of interpreting heritage not literally, but through contemporary cultural, social and psychological contexts.
Sava Hristov – manager of the Vidima Gallery and head of the Sin Research and Exhibition Project, highlighted the intensive and fruitful work on it, the significance of the prepared research and interpretive analyses and the added value of the professional contacts built during the implementation.
The official guest was the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Dryanovo Dilyana Dzhedzheva. The importance of the partnership between the institutions and the shared aspiration for a contemporary interpretation of cultural heritage was emphasized.
The Director of the Historical Museum – Dryanovo Ivan Hristov welcomed the guests and noted that it is an honor for the institution that the Dryanovo public is the first to see this working phase of the future exhibition transformation.
The project brings together experts from various fields: Prof. Raina Gavrilova (history of culture, Sofia University); Ch. Vladimir Dimitrov (History and Theory of Art, NBU); Dr. Slava Yanakieva (NBU); organizational psychologist Svetoslav Stoev; cartoonist Tchavdar Nikolov (“Pras Press”); Tatyana Tsankova – former director of the museum.
The field research, carried out by Ilina Peneva and Ivo Deliyski, covers churches and monasteries in Yablanitsa, Bachkovo, Churilovo, Kurilo, Lozno, Leshko, the Rila and Troyan monasteries, etc.
The collected documentation reveals a picture of preserved and lost frescoes – testimonies of tradition, memory and oblivion.
The central emphasis of the exhibition is the multi-layered reading of the images. “SIN” presents them not as edifying symbols, but as living cultural forms, whose meanings change over time.
Archival footage, field photographs, documents and expert analyses intertwine to show how sin is transferred from a moral category to a cultural issue – and how it can be presented in a museum environment today.
The materials and conclusions from the project will form the basis of the renewed permanent exhibition “Sin”, the development of which is pending.
In parallel, a website and a monograph are being prepared, which will unite the scientific and visual documentation.
The Sin Research and Exhibition Project s being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the History Museum – Dryanovo and the Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and Methodius”.
The Museum of Humor and Satire presents in Dryanovo the first visit of the mobile exhibition “SIN” – a contemporary look at the unique museum collection of 50 panels, created in the 1970s as copies of Renaissance frescoes with satirical and instructive motifs.
Half a century later, the museum team conducted a large-scale study of all the temples from which the original frescoes originated.
Some of them are now severely damaged or lost, which turns the copies into a valuable historical document.
A monograph is also being prepared as part of the project, which will present the entire process of research, analysis and interpretation of the collection as a basis for its future re-exhibition.
The exhibition includes:
– archival materials and reproductions from the collection;
– footage from field research;
– analytical texts by specialists in the fields of art, theology and psychology;
– contemporary interpretations of the place of the theme of sin in our cultural memory.
“SIN” invites the audience to enter into a dialogue with the past and discover how moral, laughter and human weaknesses remain relevant throughout the centuries.
The Sin Research and Exhibition Project is implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and in partnership with the Historical Museum – Dryanovo.
On October 27, 2025, a Symposium on the “Sin” project was held in the library of the Museum of Humor and Satire – a key event in the preparation of the new permanent exhibition, which will restore and rethink the presentation of the emblematic museum collection, exhibited in the Museum from 1975 to 2022.
About the Project
“Sin – Research and Exhibition Project” focuses on the unique museum collection of 50 copies of frescoes from 16 churches and monasteries in Bulgaria.
Its goal is to support the team in developing a narrative about the collection that is understandable to a modern audience – from field and archival research to interpretive solutions, design and communication with the public.
The corpus of images offers artistic, ethnographic, historical and moral-philosophical layers, putting sacred art, satire and contemporary interpretations of moral themes into dialogue.
Participants and Topics
The symposium brought together curators, art historians, theologians, psychologists, museum specialists, artists and teachers, who presented their analytical texts and research and discussed.
The meeting took place in a spirit of in-depth dialogue and shared commitment to the topic of the collection and contemporary approaches to its presentation – considered not only in a theological, but also in a cultural, social and aesthetic context.
Event facilitator: Margarita Dorovska – Head of the Fine Arts and Exhibition and Fund Activities Department at the museum and author of the project concept.
Authors of the analytical texts:
Prof. Dr. Raina Gavrilova – cultural scientist and historian, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Dr. Vladimir Dimitrov – art historian, NBU Dr. Slava Yanakieva – cultural scientist and theologian, NBU Svetoslav Stoev – psychologist and social analyst Tchavdar Nikolov – cartoonist and visual satirist Tatyana Tsankova – ethnologist and long-time director of the museum Ilina Peneva – curator and PR, Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center, Gabrovo (results of field research) Sava Hristov – project manager, manager of Vidima Gallery, Sevlievo
Results and next steps
The event laid the foundations for the meaningful and interpretative process that will shape the new permanent exhibition “Sin”.
The presented reports and discussions will be used in:
Finalizing the exhibition concept Preparing the accompanying monograph Creating a mobile exhibition Developing a project website
The video documentation from the symposium will support the work of the curatorial team in the next stages of the project.
This project is implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.
