Zagreb – Munich
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EXHIBITION
Zagreb – Munich. Croatian Painting and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts“
Art Pavilion in Zagreb, 21st October – 6th December 2009
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Besides the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, the Munich Academy was an important destination for Croatian painters at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was through the Munich Academy that the Croatian painting was pervaded by the well-known Piloty school of painting, followed by tone painting, plain-airism and the impact of French realism à la Leibl and Lindenschmit in the painting interpretations of Iso Kršnjavi, Ferdinand Quiquerez, Oton Iveković, Celestin Medović, Nikola Mašić and Menci Clement Crnčić. Symbolist and art nouveau influences were transmitted by Bela Čikoš Sesija, Robert Auer and Ljubo Babić. The Croatian history of art traditionally associates Munich with the notion of the so-called Munich Circle, which refers to education and the work of four Croatian painters, namely Josip Račić, Vladimir Becić, Miroslav Kraljević and Oskar Herman, who attended the Academy in the first decade of the 20th century and were often called the "Croatian School".
Though represented in smaller numbers than other European nations, Croatian painters were present and recognised in Munich. Medović, Mašić and Auer participated in exhibitions and received awards. Although the role of Munich in the development of Croatian painting has long since been recognised in the Croatian history of art, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Munich Academy, this important part of the Croatian historical and artistic heritage is to be revived and given the place it deserves in the multi-national community of the "Munich School".
The objective of this exhibition is to present the cross section of the Croatian painting at the turn of the 20th century, focusing mainly on its links with the Munich school of painting, and to participate in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and the project "Munich as European Centre of Art Education" initiated by the Munich Academy and the Munich Central Institute for Art History.
This exhibition will be the first to focus exclusively on the works most representative of the connections with the Munich Academy, by Croatian painters who studied there. This exhibition will also show, for the first time in Croatia, works of professors who taught Croatian painters, insofar mentioned in research by reference only, and hardly known both to Croatian art historians and to wide audience. The term "Munich School of Painting" is frequently used; thus exhibiting some of the works crucial for the formation of Croatian painters will contribute to its additional elaboration and explanation.
The exhibition "Zagreb – Munich" will present more than eighty works of the following twenty Croatian painters enrolled in the Munich Academy of Fine Arts from 1870 to 1914: Izidor Kršnjavi, Ferdinand Quiquerez, Josip Bauer, Nikola Mašić, Anton Aron, Dragan Melkus, Hugo Lukšić, Marko Murat, Mato Celestin Medović, Menci Clement Crnčić, Bela Čikoš Sesija, Oton Iveković, Ivan Tišov, Robert Auer, Konrad Filip, Oskar Herman, Josip Račić, Vladimir Becić, Miroslav Kraljević, Ljubo Babić (the list is based on the chronology of enrolments in the Munich Academy, according to the Academy Registry.)
About ten works by the following German painters from the holdings of the New Pinakothek in Munich shall be presented as well: Karl von Piloty, Wilhelm Diez, Wilhelm Lindenschmit, Nicolaus Gysis, Wilhelm Leibl, Ludwig Löfftz, Gabriel Max, Hugo von Habermann, Franz Von Stuck.
Information on exhibits and their lenders
About one hundred works from Croatia and abroad will be included in the exhibition, some of them exhibited in Croatia for the first time:
Croatia – Zagreb: Moderna galerija (Modern Gallery), Hrvatski povijesni muzej (Croatian History Museum), Muzej za umjetnost i obrt (Museum of Arts and Crafts); Split: Galerija umjetnina (Gallery of Artworks); Dubrovnik: Umjetnička galerija (Art Gallery); Rijeka: Muzej moderne i suvremene umjetnosti (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art); Osijek: Galerija likovnih umjetnosti (Gallery of Fine Arts); Vukovar: Muzej grada Vukovara (Museum of the City of Vukovar); Našice: Zavičajni muzej (Regional Museum); Karlovac: Muzej grada Karlovca (Museum of the City of Karlovac). Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo: Umjetnička galerija B. i H. (Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Hungary – Budapest: Nacionalna galerija (National Gallery). Germany – Munich: Nova pinakoteka (New Pinakothek).
Authors of the exhibition:
Irena Kraševac, Ph.D., Petar Prelog, Ph.D., Institute of Art History
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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
„Croatian Painting and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts“
Multimedia Hall of the HAZU Library, 22nd – 23rd October 2009
Topics:
- Influence of the Munich Academy on the Croatian Painting of the 19th Century and the Beginning of 20th Century
- Art Education in Croatia
- Art in Croatia: Between the National and the International
- Artistic Influences of the "Munich School"
- Artistic Dialogues between European Countries
Aim of symposium is the inclusion of Croatian art into the international context of the Munich school of painting; setting guidelines for further cultural research of interrelations between the German and the Croatian cultures.
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Exhibition and symposium organised by:
Institute of Art History, Zagreb
Art Pavilion in Zagreb
Cooperation with:
HAZU Archive for Fine Arts
HAZU Cabinet of Graphics
Modern Gallery Zagreb
The project is realised under the auspices of Stjepan Mesić, President of the Republic of Croatia, with the support of the Department for International Cultural Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.
Honorary Committee:
Radovan Fuchs, Minister of Science, Education and Sports
Božo Biškupić, Minister of Culture
Milan Moguš, President of the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts
Konrad Kobler, President of the Bavarian - Croatian Society, Representative in the Bavarian Parliament
Organisational Committee:
Milan Pelc, Head of the Institute for Art History
Walter Grasskamp, Munich Academy of Fine Arts
Jaminka Lokas – Strpić, Head of the Department for International Cultural Cooperation, Ministry of Culture
Radovan Vuković, Director of the Art Pavilion
Slavica Marković, Director of the HAZU Cabinet of Graphics
Biserka Rauter Plančić, Director of the Modern Gallery in Zagreb
Ankica Pandžić, Director of the Croatian History Museum
Executive Committee:
Irena Kraševac, research associate, Institute of Art History
Petar Prelog, research associate, Institute of Art History
Nela Gubić, Institute of Art History
Marina Bregovac Pisk, Croatian History Museum
Andreja Der-Hazarijan Vukić, HAZU Art Archives
Stanko Špoljarić, Art Pavilion
Stella Mihelj, Art Pavilion