Exactly one hundred years have passed since Ivan Milev donated his painting Ahinora to the gallery in his native city of Kazanlak. And today, a century later, another generous donation is the occasion for this exhibition. From the creation of the art collection in 1901 to the present day, the emphasis on donation remains the principal and most valued way of enriching the institution’s funds.
We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Polina K. Karadimova, thanks to whom we now have the opportunity to get a glimpse into an exciting life and creative path that began in Kazanlak in 1896.
It was not so long ago that applied art was viewed as a craft, satisfying primarily the needs of daily life rather than as a work of art. Every woman produced the fabrics that decorated her home. Patterns and dyes were inherited and passed down through generations, building the distinctive aesthetic of each region in Bulgaria. One of the first major researchers who spent many years studying the history of carpet-making throughout Bulgarian lands was Dimitar Velev. His work was marked by the desire to bring to the fore ‘our, precious and harmonious old carpets’ [kilims].
The name Dimitar Donchev Velev remained unknown even to people from his native city. Born in Kazanlak on June 17, 1896, he developed as an industrialist, scholar, creator and philanthropist. He was the son of Doncho Velev, a merchant and veteran of the Wars of Liberation whose family hailed from Dolno Sahrane, Kazanlak region. Dimitar also served in the First World War. After its end, in 1921, he successfully graduated from the Faculty of Law at Sofia University. During this period, his passion for carpet-making deepened and found professional expression in the title “master carpet-maker” [kilimar] which he acquired in 1927.
In Sofia, while running his law practice, Dimitar Velev also developed carpet-making activities. There he established the Bagra carpet house, and in Kazanlak, a carpet workshop with the same name. The Bagra house became one of the largest producers and exporters of Bulgarian carpets, known for their high artistic and production quality, drawing on motifs from Bulgarian folk heritage. In the 1930s, Dimitar Velev opened carpet workshops in several other cities in the country. He conducted courses on Chiprovtsi carpets in the village of Kopilovtsi, Kotlenski carpets in Botevgrad, and directed a school for Persian carpets in Zlatitsa. He engaged in both artistic design, subject to centuries-old Bulgarian traditions, and problems related to execution: the technology of Bulgarian carpets and tapestries, vegetable dyes in Bulgaria and household dyeing, folk aprons and their ornamentation.
In 1929, the Bagra carpet house participated in the prestigious Leipzig Fair. In 1934, during the Christmas holidays, a major craft exhibition was organised in Kazanlak. Among the exhibitors was Bagra, whose carpets competed fully with imported Persian samples. On the first day alone, the exhibition was visited by over 5,000 local residents and guests of the city. In 1937, at the International Exhibition in Paris (Exposition Internationale des Arts et des Techniques, Paris 1937), Bagra received the Grand Prize (Diplôme de Grand Prix) for its carpets, as well as a medal from the International Craft Exhibition in Berlin in 1938. From 1940, Dimitar Velev was honoured with the title “court carpet-maker” to His Majesty Tsar Boris III.
After the end of the Second World War, at 39 Lége Street, the Bagra gallery opened its doors, where artists such as Atanas Mihov and Lyudmil Runievski and applied art masters such as Ruska Popvasileva, Stefan Peychev, Asen Vasilev, Georgi Kurtev and Nikola Chehlarov were among those who presented their exhibitions.
From 1948 until the end of his life, Dimitar Velev devoted himself to scientific work as a collaborator at the Institute of Fine Arts at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. For the needs of carpet-making instruction, in 1950 Velev wrote A Textbook of Carpet-Making for Girls’ Vocational Schools. He was also author of several articles on problems and the history of carpet-making, most of which were published in News of the Institute of Fine Arts. In 1960, his book Bulgarian Carpets Until the End of the 19th Century was published.
In 1949 together with Prof. Georgi Bogdanov (1910–1974), Velev founded Bulgaria’s first workshop for wall carpets: the Tapestry Workshop. In addition to artistic designs by Prof. Bogdanov and D. Velev, it also produced designs by the pioneer of Bulgarian design, also born in Kazanlak, Vasil Stoyanov (1926–1980).
With this exhibition, we attempt to trace the threads of a rich life and creative biography. Line by line, through the donated archival documents and works, we unravel the intriguing history not only of one person, but of many human destinies whose paths intertwined. We hope that this exhibition will be only the beginning of the rediscovery of Dimitar Velev; creator, researcher and guardian of Bulgarian tradition. For English language translations of the exhibition text found on the walls and labels, see this page.
This event is part of the gallery’s cultural calendar marking the 125th anniversary of the founding of the art collection of Art Gallery – Kazanlak.
General media partner: Bulgarian National Radio.
