Some of the Bulgarian painters developed a special style known as the Turnovo School of art. In addition to decorating churches and monasteries, Turnovo School artists also painted miniatures to illustrate chronicles and religious texts. Several of these are preserved in major European museums.
Woodcarving, silversmithing, goldsmithing, and other crafts also reached a high level of artistry in medieval Bulgaria. Human and animal figures were common motifs in carved wooden doors and other architectural features.
Medieval creativity came to an abrupt halt with the Turkish invasion, which not only prevented new artistic expression but also destroyed and damaged much of the existing art. Not until the National Revival of the nineteenth century did Bulgarian artists again begin to express their creativity in painting and sculpture.
Modern Bulgarian art had its beginning in the national awakening and the struggle for independence of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. As in literature, National Revival art found its themes in the beauty of the countryside, the charm of old customs, traditional folktales, and the heroic deeds of brave men. Stylistic inspiration came from peasant art and ancient Bulgarian religious art. Most significant among revival artists were Nikola Pavlovich and Vladislav Dospevaki, the former for his introduction of Western-style realism and the latter for his modernization of church art. As a whole, however, National Revival art is more significant for its historic role than for its artistic merit.
In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism. Best known in that period was Ivan Murkvichka, a Bohemian by birth, whose most appreciated paintings dealt with peasant life. He founded the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia and organized the first Bulgarian art exhibit.
After World War I Vladimir Dimitrov, known as The Master, sought to free Bulgarian painting from the influence of ethnography and literature, although he too drew upon village motifs. Mainly a painter of people--in individual portraits or in group compositions--he concentrated on themes of family life and peasant work. Since World War II Dimitrov has been hailed as a great revolutionary humanist whose stylized epic and lyrical works depict the greatness of the people and of their suffering.