Cluj-Napoca Art Museum

About Cluj-Napoca Art Museum

Cluj-Napoca Art Museum
Established in 1951, Cluj-Napoca Art Museum had older patrimony collections: an art collection from the former Transylvanian Museum and especially the collection of “Virgil Cioflec" art gallery.
The museum is localized in Banffy Palace, built during 1774-1785 as a private residence of count Gheorghe Bánffy, governor of Transylvania, by the German architect Johann Eberhard Blaumann.
The National Gallery represents the permanent exhibition of Cluj-Napoca Art Museum, carried out in 21 rooms at the upper floor of the building. The patrimony of Cluj-Napoca Art Museum comprises over 13.000 valuable exhibits of Romanian and universal art (15th – 21st centuries), made of paintings, sculptures, graphic arts, decorative arts and documentary collections.
Banffy Palace
In PiaţaUnirii (Union Square) is the most important architectural Baroque monument from Transylvania. It was erected between 1774 and 1785 by the governor Gheorghe Banffy. The main facade is impressive and it preserves the cost of arms of the aristocratic family – the griffin with sword and crown bordered by other two griffins. This facade is decorated with statues representing characters of ancient mythology: Mars, Minerva, Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Perseus, sculpted by Anton Schuchbauer.
Among the guests of the palace were the Emperor Francisc I, Queen Karolina and Franz Lizt. Starting with 1951, the palace houses the collections of the Art Museum from Cluj-Napoca.