An Unknown Dora: from the Photograph Albums of the Hellenbach Family (guest appearance in Našice)
Zagreb City Museum, guest appearance in Našice Local History Museum
Exhibition concept: Slavko Šterk
Multimedia: Maja Šojat-Bikić, MSc
Design: Slavko Šterk, after the layout and visual design of the exhibition Photograph Albums of the Hellenbach Family by Željko Kovačić, BArch
This is a summary of the exhibition Photographic Albums of the Hellenbach Family held in Zagreb City Museum (July 7 – September 9, 2009). The point of departure, of course, was the name of Dora Pejačević.
One hundred and nine photographs were put on display, both originals and copies, divided into 6 units:
1. The Hellenbach Family
2. Elizabeta Drašković as amateur photographer
3. Bisag Castle
4. Zagreb 1906-1908
5. In the photographic studio of Mihail Merćep
6. Visits to Dora in 1904, 1906 and 1912
The first three themes shed an indirect light on Dora’s personality and refer to Countess Elizabeta Drašković as a link between the Hellenbach, Drašković and Pejačević families, while the last three topics talk of Dora directly.
In the introductory part of the exhibition a multimedia kiosk is set up with an e-catalogue of more than 300 photographic portraits of the Austro-Hungarian nobility and middle classes from the photograph albums of the Hellenbach family, while the history of the Castle Hellenbach in Marija Bistrica is shown in a short film (4’ 48”).
Between the first and second part of the exhibition, as particular curiosity, we show three perforated paper rolls for phonola (piano player) with compositions by Dora Pejačević from the Collection of Mechanical Musical Automata of Ivan Gerersdorfer held in Zagreb City Museum. The following compositions are rendered in this way:
1. Impromptu, op. 32b, 1912
2. Nocturno, op. 50, no. 2, composed in Našice in 1920
3. Abendgedanke, op. 32, no. 4, 1912 (from the cycle Four Piano Pieces).
Slavko Šterk
Pictures from the exhibition
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photo Našice Local History Museum and Maja Šojat-Bikić, MSc