Galeriya Dimitâr Dobrovich

Galeriya Dimitâr Dobrovich is signposted from the centre as ‘Sirak Skirnik’. This art gallery in the park displays the works of 19th- and 20th-century Bulgarian artists, including many by its namesake, Sliven-born painter Dimitâr Dobrovich. Among the works, which display strong French and Italian influences, are portraits of local luminaries and ordinary people, as well as numerous impressionistic landscape paintings (including an evocative portrayal of Veliko Târnovo). The gallery’s most intriguing section, however, belongs to the Mu­seum of Christian Art on the lower floor, which has a large collection of 18th- and 19th-century icons, some from the Tryavna school of icon painting. Works range from monumental wall icons to unique small pieces, the most unusual being an almost Oriental icon of the Virgin Mary surrounded by roses (1836).