Pinocchio, art, and baths

We've been waiting for a rainy day to explore a couple of art museums but I don't think the rain  will ever come. So yesterday Stephen and I went to two art museums housed in ancient Turkish bath buildings (Hammans) in the old Turkish Bazaar in the center of Skopje. 

The first one, the National Galleryy is housed in the Daut Pasha Hamman. It was built in the 15th century and is the second largest Hamman in the city. We were the only people in the museum and I was very impressed with the collection. It  was mostly traditional paintings and sculpture

The baths were beautifully restored, leaving much of the original stone work but adding 

white walls to brighten it up and allow a place for the art to be hung. 

                                      This little fella looks a lot like my friend Hamid, the Afghan boy in Lowell  whose family we have been helping since they arrived here about 5 years ago. 

                                            This one was painted before covid....

There was also a room or two of contemporary art as well. 

The second museum was also 15th century. The Shifte Hamman had two exhibits. The first one was about female trailblazers from Austria, (the exhibit was on loan from....surprise: Austria! )The highlight was a Klimt painting, showing off a woman's cleavage, which was apparently radical at the time. 

But the other exhibit was fabulous -- full of kids -- because the theme of the exhibit was for a dozen or mor
artists to create their own vision of Pinnochio. Very creative,  clever and even politically radical interpretations.