Emanuel Vidović

The Roofs of Split, 1937, Emanuel Vidovic.

During the spring of 2014, on a cruise primarily to visit Venice, my wife and I enjoyed the extra added attraction of visiting the Dalmatian coast (the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea). We visited the mountainous little country of Montenegro, plus the Croatian cities of Dubrovnik and Split. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that, while I had vaguely heard of Dubrovnik, insofar as I knew, Split was always preceded by the word "banana." However, given the artist and history buff within me, I quickly learned that the city was primarily famous for two men, the 4th-Century Roman Emperor, Diocletian had his palace there (some of which still stands), and the Croatian sculptor, Ivan Meštrović (whose former seaside villa has been converted to a museum showcasing his work). Actually, there was another Croatian artist who was pretty outstanding, although his work maybe doesn't measure up to that of Mestrovic. Emanuel Vidovic, (who was a painter, in any case, so it's hard to compare the two) also has a museum in Split (bottom), though it's not nearly as monumental as Mestrovic's.

 

Croatia’s leading Post-impressionist, Vidović was consumed by a life-long fascination with Adriatic townscapes, and the city of Split.

Emanuel Vidovic was born in 1870 in Split. He was educated in a local elementary school, and later the Imperial Royal High School, where drawing was a major part of his curriculum. Eager to study art, in 1887 Vidovic initially took up architecture at the well-known Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. A short time later he transferred to painting only to become disillusioned with the institution and techniques he was taught. He quit formal instruction after just three years. He moved on independently, still searching and developing his own skills. During this period, he drew landscapes of Venice to support himself. In 1892, he began to work at the Famiglia Artistica in Milan, which was founded as part of the Scapigliatura movement by artists, writers, poets and painters. Its bohemian character defined the nature of the movement. It was there that Emanuel Vidovic began to refine his landscape skills.

Work from Vidovic's Italian Scapigliatura period.
(Scapigliatura doesn't seem to have a translation.)

Exhibiting his first set of works in Milan in 1894, Vidovic was inspired by the scenic views of the lagoons and canals of a fishing village named Chioggia. There he spent time, painting works which bore the character of symbolism and were filled with light and luminescence. Upon returning to Split in 18989, Vidovic introduced himself to the social circles of local artists and painters then began work at his own studio while also teaching art at the local high school. Vidolvic exhibited his works, along with Josip Lalic's, at the first exhibition of the Literary Art Club in 1901, a newly established showcase for modern art in Split. He first exhibited his work as a solo artist in 1903 in the cities of Zagreb and Split. The quality of his paintings later took him to shows in London, Milan, Sofia, and Vienna. Continuing in the field of teaching, the following year Vidovic became a drawing instructor at the School of Crafts in Split. He resumed solo exhibitions in the years after WW I, first in Split, then in 1923 in Prague.

Evidence of Vidovic's stylistic experimentation around the turn of the century. (Many of his paintings are untitled.)

As his style evolved, Vidovic also created paintings in different shades of pastels, of landscapes, and interiors of buildings. A highly acclaimed series of Trogir landscapes (a small coastal village west of Split) emerged in later years, showing characteristics that were distinct from his Chioggia landscapes. About the same time, Vidovic's paintings of interiors began to transform into three-dimensional illusionary art, adding great depth to his work in the period from 1938 to 1942. His contribution to Croatian art made him a highly respected figure, affording him invitations to renowned art festivals in Europe. It also earned him a membership in the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Split Cathedral Interior, 1939, Emanuel Vidovic.

Emanuel Vidovic painted iridescent landscapes composed of textures of crepuscular (Sun rays of God) light and color, which made their way into the world of art in Croatia and other European countries. Although considered a 19th-Century artist, Vidovic experimented with different styles of the time, such as Post-impressionist, Art Nouveau and Expressionism to arrive at his own inimitable, modern style. Many of his early works are steeped in Slavic history. Later, Vidovic brought interiors of church interiors to his canvases. He was also a gifted graphic artist whose satirical caricatures were published in books and publications in Croatia, bringing him fame as a man with a high degree of social awareness. Emanuel Vidovic died in 1953 at the age of eighty-three. Split, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. Today, nearly a thousand of his paintings and drawings have been preserved in a Romanesque house in the heart of Split, The Galerija Emanuel Vidovic.

Opatija, (northern Croatia), Emanuel Vidovic

My Studio, 1938, Emanuel Vidovic

Galerija Emanuel Vidovic, Split, Croatia

Oton Iveković

            Death of Eugen Kvaternika,1895-1900, Oton Ivekovic                                   

 

Our Lady of Flowers, Oton Ivekovic

A  couple years ago my wife and I visited Croatia. Whatever country I visit, being the culture vulture I am, I try to soak up as much of the art and art history of the region as I can. Usually I have in mind a particular museum and several artists that fascinate me. Most of our time in Croatia we spent in the ancient port city of Debrovnik, and the more modern city of Split, best known as the retirement home of the 4th-century Roman Emperor, Diocletian. Debrovnik is one of the best preserved Medieval cities in the world. I was rather dismayed and ashamed that not one of the several Croatian painters, architects, and sculptors mentioned by tour guides had I ever heard of before. Yet the Croats have a long and rather luminous history of contributing to the arts. I was totally unfamiliar with the works of painters such as Vlaho Bukovac and the sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. Another Croatian painter also failed to "ring a bell"--Oton Iveković.

Arrival of Croats to the Adriatic Sea, 1905, Oton Ivekovic.




Oton Ivekovic, possibly
 a self-portrait.

Ivekovic was a Croatian history painter, meaning not only was he Croatian, but painted almost exclusively Croatian history. He was born in 1869 in a small town of Klanjek along the northern border with what is now Slovenia. Most of his art training occurred in the art academies of Vienna and Zagreb between the years, 1886 and 1890. Coming from a poor, peasant family, money was always a problem and young Oton was never a very good student in anything except art and history. Nevertheless, he was able to earn a scholarship to study at the Art Academy of Munich. However, in returning home, Ivekovic found the demand for history painters fading with the fine art of photography rapidly "developing" as a viable alternative to ;the massive (and expensive) canvases favored by painters of history. He took a job teaching high school art. Most of Ivekovic's best works date from the period before the turn of the century as he concentrated on Croatian history previous to the invention and encroachment of cameras and film. His Death of Eugen Kvaternika (top), is from this period. The painting depicts the gruesome death of the last King of the Croats in 1096.

Massacre of Rakovica (Death of Eugen Kvaternik), Oton Ivekovic. He seems
 to have preferred scenes related to the death of historic Coatian figures.

For a history painter Ivekovic appeared to have little regard for it as to his own work.  Few of his paintings can be dated with any degree of certainty. Much of Ivekovic's larger canvases came as a sideline, almost a "hobby," as he concentrated on illustrating books of poetry such as Judita by Marko Marulić, and  August Šenoa's novel Zlatarevo Zlato (Goldsmiths's Gold) while also designing sets and costumes for the Zagreb Theater. In 1910 Ivekovic even managed to land a commission for murals in an American church. Upon completion, he took time off to tour the American West and paint the cowboys and Indians. However, I could find no evidence of any Ivekovic works done during this trip. 

Execution of Matija Gubec, Oton Ivekovic. Was Croatian history really
so bloody or did Ivekovic simply make it appear that way?

King Tomaslav, Oton Ivekovic

When war broke out in Europe in 1915, Ivekovic turned his history painting talents to the dangerous profession of war correspondent in the hot spots of Sochi, Galicia and Serbia though, as with his "American" art, I could find nothing of his in the way of battlefield renderings either. After the war, Ivekovic retired and bought the huge medieval castle of Veliki Tabor (below) in the area north of Zagreb. There he spent a small fortune restoring it, then living in it until his death in 1939. It would seem he was more interested in history itself than in painting it.

A retirement home for aging history painters: Oton Ivekovic's Veliki Tabor
--the man's home was his castle.

 

Vlaho Bukovac

Gundulic's Dream, 1894, Vlaho Bukovac, French Academicism with a Croatian twist.



Self-portrait with Captain's Hat,
1902, Vlaho Bukovac

This past summer, my wife and I spent a day in Dubrovnik, Croatia. There I had a close encounter with that country's most important artist, the sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic in visiting his former home now turned into a museum. I was rather dismayed to discover neither the museum nor local book sellers had any books on this artist's work. Being a painter, I also inquired as to Croatian painters. None were mentioned, even though Vlaho Bukovac, arguably the most important Croatian painter in recent history was born just nine miles south of Dubrovnik in the small coastal village of Cavtat (1855). As with Mestrovic, you can even tour his former home in nearby Konavle. Though Mestrovic was a generation younger than Bukovac, he seems to have far overshadowed his countryman, which is somewhat unusual in that painters usually trump sculptors in any popularity contest.

Turkish Women in Harem, c. 1877, Vlaho
Bukovac, given as a gift to his mentor,
Archbishop Joseph Strossmayer. It would
seem a rather erotic gift for a priest.

Vlaho Bukovac was born in poverty, the son of an Italian innkeeper. As many such artists have found, exceptional talent is often a ticket from such hardship and obscurity. The passport, is simply hard work. At the age of eleven, an uncle took Vlaho to the United States where he learned English, as they both struggled in the post-Civil War period. When his uncle died around 1871, the sixteen-year-old returned to Dubrovnik to work as a seaman apprentice, which took him as far away as Liverpool, England, and eventually Peru. There he worked for a time drawing letters on coaches. In returning to his hometown around 1876, his talent in drawing brought him to the notice of the local archbishop, who arranged the necessary financial support allowing Bukovac to study in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. There he came under the influence of the quintessential academic painter of all time, Alexandre Cabanel.

Suffer the Little Children, 1880s, Vlaho Bukovac

Upon finishing his schooling, Bukovac remained in Paris for the next sixteen years, successfully painting portraits, nudes, and various religious subjects. His Suffer the Little Children (above) is from that period. Though it and most of Bukovac's other Paris works are staunchly Academic in style, Bukovac also picked up the essence of French Impressionism. However this loosening of his style was not to manifest itself for several years, until after he moved first to Belgrade, then Zagreb, and later Prague. He died in Prague in 1922. Though likely the only Croatian painter ever trained in Paris, Bukovac absorbed the prevailing style wherever he lived and worked. Thus he would have to be classed as an eclectic painter, his manner of painting changing greatly over the course of his career. Such artists, in not fitting neatly into any historic style, national, or ethnic category are often simply ignored by art historians, which may account for why Bukovac is so little know or appreciated, even in his Croatian homeland.

Reclining Nude, 1897, Vlaho Bukovac. Possibly his most famous work,
this painting sold in 2006 for just over $125,000.




 

Ivan Mestrovic

Photo by Jim Lane

Ivan Mestrovic Self-portrait, 1941

If you're anything like me, you've probably never heard of Split, Croatia. I'd never heard of it until the city turned up on the itinerary of our latest cruise of the Adriatic. And, if you've never heard of Split, it's unlikely you've ever heard of the city's greatest sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic. Moreover, it wouldn't be going to far to call him Croatia's greatest artist, even one of the outstanding sculptors of the whole 20th century. Over the years, I've covered the lives of 20th century sculptors such as Daniel Chester French, Auguste Rodin, Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Henry Moore, and others. Mestrovic is lesser known, but easily in the same league. Yesterday (directly below) I discussed Art Deco, though I don't suppose anyone has ever associated Mestrovic's work with that style. Yet, his best works fall within that era and embody many of the same stylistic elements.

Photo by Jim Lane

The Katunaric Family, 1906,
Ivan Mestrovic

Why is it people are so unfamiliar with the name Mestrovic and the work of such an outstanding three-dimensional artist? First of all, he had the misfortune of having been born in the virtually unpronounceable mountain village of Vrpolje, Croatia, (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in 1883. Had he been French, for instance, his name might well be a household word. Moreover, the area and era in which he lived and worked was a nightmare of violent political, social, and military upheavals unmatched by few others in history. Though his work has always been popular, his services as an artists, sculptor, and architect very much in demand, Mestrovic also positioned himself in the middle of the muddle that was Balkan politics from a early age. As a result, his personal life was one of frequent flight to avoid persecution for his anti-communist beliefs and writings. In effect, he became a nomadic international artist, praised the world over yet damned for decades in his own country.

Photo by Jim Lane

Job, 1946, Ivan Mestrovic

Between 1931 and 1939, the wealthy sculptor designed and had built what could only be termed a small palace in Split. Eight stately Ionic columns dominate a massive, broad, double-flight of limestone steps overlooking impressive formal gardens and the exquisitely beautiful Adriatic coast. It was intended as a summer home and studio, though the artist and his wife with their four children lived in the completed villa barely a year before being forced to flee the country for a safer venue. Last week I visited that "palace," the Ivan Mestrovic Museum, which houses 192 sculptures, four paintings, 583 drawings, plus numerous architectural plans, all created between 1898 and 1961. Mestrovic died in 1962 in South Bend, Indiana, where he'd been a professor at Notre Dame, University from 1954, when he became an American citizen.

Photo by Jim Lane

The Last Supper, 1945, Ivan Mestrovic.

Photo by Jim Lane

Boy with Horse, c. 1936,
Ivan Mestrovic, is a portrait of the
sculptor's son, Mate (Matthew).

Ivan Mestrovic is the second most notable personage to ever occupy the city of Split, after the Roman Emperor, Diocletian (241-311 AD), whose somewhat larger, though infinitely less beautiful, palace dominates the city's ancient waterfront. Today the city of Split, indeed, much of Croatia and the Dalmatian coast, having mostly recovered from a senseless and disastrous civil war in the 1990s, is on the verge of becoming a first-rate resort attraction. As the city's star rises, that of Ivan Mestrovic will most deservedly soar with it.

Photo by Jim Lane

Roman Pieta, 1919, Ivan Mestrovic,
The influence of Michelangelo is
quite evident.