Mimara Museum

Ante Topic Mimara gave his collection to Croatia between 1973 and 1986 and it opened in 1987 in a restored nineteenth century school building on Roosevelt Square: more than 3,750 objects spanning ancient glass, Asian art, icons, furniture and European painting attributed to a long list of major names. The attributions have been contested since almost the beginning - journalists and art historians have questioned both the paintings and Mimara's own account of himself, and the museum's labelling has become more cautious over the years. The building and the ancient and applied art holdings are solid; the picture gallery is where the argument sits.

History

Ante Topić Mimara was born on 7 April 1898 in Korušce near Split; visits to Salona and the teaching of the archaeologist Frane Bulić gave him an early love of the past, and from 1918 he worked in Rome in the studio of the painter Antonio Mancini and learned restoration. He began collecting in the mid-1920s and went on all his life, living in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Berlin and later in Tangier and Salzburg. His first gift, in 1948, went to the Strossmayer Gallery in Zagreb and the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade; in 1973 he signed the agreement founding a new museum in Zagreb, adding to it in 1986, and the central hall of the old school building at Roosevelt Square 5 was adapted to house it. Mimara died in Zagreb on 30 January 1987, before the museum opened on 17 July that year with more than 3,750 objects; from its opening the attributions of many of the paintings have been questioned by critics and historians (Wikipedia, Mimara Museum).

What's there

• More than 3,750 objects - given to the state between 1973 and 1986.
• Glass, icons, Asian art and furniture - the strongest parts of the collection.
• Contested attributions - questioned since the museum opened in 1987.
• A restored nineteenth century school - the building itself.

When to go

Year round; check opening as the building has closed for works at times. Two to three hours.

Practical notes

Treat the big-name painting labels with caution - the doubts are real and long-standing. Parts of the museum have been closed for renovation in recent years. Labelling is thin in places and the layout is confusing.

Nearby

The lower town squares and the National Theatre are around it.

Key facts