Photograph of İçərişəhər — Baku Old City — to be added
İçərişəhər — Baku Old City
The walled medieval core of Baku, a UNESCO World Heritage Site enclosing the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs.
Included in 4 tours
Baku
Baku Museum of Modern Art
Azerbaijani avant-garde and contemporary work in a deliberately disorienting interior with no straight gallery walls.
Photograph of Baku Museum of Modern Art — to be added
The Baku Museum of Modern Art opened in 2009 and holds around 800 works, concentrated on Azerbaijani avant-garde painting and sculpture from the 1950s onward alongside contemporary pieces.
It is the most architecturally adventurous museum interior in the city, and the space is as much the point as the collection.
The space
Rather than a sequence of rectangular rooms, the interior is built from intersecting planes set at deliberately odd angles. There is no single fixed route, and works are encountered from unexpected sightlines as you move.
The effect is disorienting by design. Some visitors find it exhilarating and some find it irritating; almost nobody finds it forgettable, which is presumably the intention.
The collection
The core is Azerbaijani avant-garde work from the second half of the twentieth century — artists who were working against, or around, the constraints of Socialist Realism. This material is difficult to see elsewhere and is the reason to visit.
Contemporary Azerbaijani work continues the sequence. There is also a small international section including pieces by Picasso, Dalí and Chagall.
For classical and historic Azerbaijani art, the National Museum of Art is the counterpart institution; the two collections complement rather than duplicate each other.
Highlights
- Azerbaijani avant-garde painting and sculpture from the 1950s onward
- An interior with no conventional straight gallery walls
- Contemporary Azerbaijani artists
- A small international section including Picasso, Dalí and Chagall
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Modern Art Museum and the National Art Museum?
The Baku Museum of Modern Art covers twentieth-century avant-garde and contemporary work. The National Museum of Art holds the historic and classical collection, including miniature painting and decorative arts. They complement each other.
More to see in Baku
Photograph of Maiden Tower — to be added
Maiden Tower
The enigmatic stone tower at the edge of the Old City — Baku's oldest and least explained monument.
Included in 3 tours
Photograph of Palace of the Shirvanshahs — to be added
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
The 15th-century seat of the Shirvan rulers, and the largest surviving monument of the Shirvan-Absheron architectural school.
Included in 3 tours
Photograph of Flame Towers — to be added
Flame Towers
Three flame-shaped towers above the city, screened with LEDs that turn the skyline into a fire display after dark.
Included in 3 tours
Photograph of Highland Park & Martyrs' Lane — to be added
Highland Park & Martyrs' Lane
The hilltop terrace with the best panorama over Baku bay, reached by funicular.
Included in 1 tour
Photograph of Baku Boulevard & Mini Venice — to be added
Baku Boulevard & Mini Venice
The Caspian seafront promenade — parkland, canals, Flag Square and the Baku Eye.
Included in 1 tour
Want Baku Museum of Modern Art on your itinerary?
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