Miroslav Kraljevic
Encyclopedia
Miroslav Kraljević was a Croatian painter, printmaker and sculptor, active in the early part of the 20th century. He is one of the founders of modern art in Croatia.
Kraljević studied painting in Vienna
and Munich
at the prestigious Academy of Arts along with Oskar Herman
, Vladimir Becić
and Josip Račić
. This group of Croatian artists were later called the Munich Circle, known for their influence on modern art
in Croatia
. After Munich, Kraljević spent time in the family home at Požega
, and then in Paris
where he produced his best work. He died in Zagreb
in April 1913, aged 27 from tuberculosis
.
Miroslav Kraljević painted in many different styles, including Impressionism
, Pointillism
and Expressionism
. He also became known for his drawings of grotesque or erotic characters, in a similar way to Aubrey Beardsley
, and for his sculptures. Working in a variety of media, he used almost every painting and drawing technique in his portraits, figures, still lifes, animals and landscapes. His graphics used etching and woodcut, and sculptures were created in clay, plaster and bronze.
, in the area of Lika
. His early childhood up to 7th grade high school (1888 to 1902) was spent in Zagreb
, though he completed high school in Gospić (1902–1904). He loved poetry
and music
, and he was often seen drawing. In 1904, the young Kraljević left for Vienna
. There, in addition to studying law, he took painting lessons privately with George Fischhof. After two years he gave up the study of law and devoted himself to painting.
In the autumn of 1906 Kraljević moved to Munich
, where he spent two terms at the private school of Moritz Heymann, known for training excellent printermakers. After seven months in Munich, he enrolled in the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts and became a student of Hugo von Habermann. During his time there (1907–1910) he studied with fellow Croatian painters Josip Račić
, Oskar Herman
and Vladimir Becić
. At that time Munich was an important center of the European art scene, particularly for Realism
, Post-Impressionism
, Symbolism
and Jugendstil.
Upon completion of his studies in Munich, Kraljević returned to his family, who had by then moved to Požega
, and where he spent 1910 and a good part of 1911. During this time, he painted Self-portrait with Dog (Croatian: Autoportret sa psom), and many of his other well-known portraits, landscapes and other works with rustic themes. He also returned to his interest in sculpture, producing works in clay, plaster and bronze.
In 1911, Kraljević received a state grant to study in Paris. He formally enrolled in the Academy La Grande Chaumiére
, but instead began to paint intensively at the studios of friends. Here Kraljević's creative talent came to the fore, and despite the advancing effects of tuberculosis
, he produced some of his best work, a range of motifs of Parisian life in drawings and oils. After a year, he left Paris and returned home to Požega
.
In the autumn of 1912 Kraljević went to Zagreb, where he organized his first solo exhibition, which had a retrospective character. He rented a studio, where he continued to paint until December 1913. Then he went to a sanatorium
in Berstovca for treatment. After two months, he left the hospital to return to Zagreb, where he died two days later on 16 April 1913 of tuberculosis
. He was only 27 years old. He is buried in the family grave in Pozega.
The "Munich Circle" marks the beginning of Croatian Modernism. The term was coined in the 1950s, referring to the four artists who studied at the Munich Academy of Art in the early 1900s. Miroslav Kraljević, along with fellow Croatian artists Joseph Račić, Vladimir Becić and Oscar Herman established modern art in Croatia, setting a new direction from the previously dominant academic traditions. Their art was autonomous artistic expression, without literary, historical or moralistic framework, which puts them in direct contact with French impressionism, particularly with Manet and Cézanne as role models.
Miroslav Kraljević is one of the founders of Croatian modern painting, and almost from the beginning was an extremely versatile artist.
His art can be hard to categorize, as he explored many different styles and techniques. Kraljević's graphic work displays strong tonal qualities and an excellent sense of light and dark relationships, perfectly suiting a sensitive temperament which could express extreme joy, but soon transform into deepest melancholy.
The most mature pictures of Kraljević's creative period were produced while he was in Požega: Krave na paši (Cows at Pasture), Bik (Bull), and U staji (In the Stables). Broad strokes and sharp contrasts of color show the artist in his natural element, the countryside, rather than the bourgeois parlor atmosphere. Also in Požega, he painted one of his best-known and finest self-portraits: Self-portrait with Dog. There he created and anthological works of Croatian art, such as Portret tete Luike (Portrait of Aunt Luike), Djevojčica s lutkom (Girl with Dolls) and portraits of his mother and father, and the poetic landscape painted with impressionistic atmosphere. His work contains elements of both Impressionism
(for example in Park Luxembourg), and Expressionism
(Women in the Park). His pipe pictures, also created in Paris, show methods similar to Cézanne.
The Gallery Miroslav Kraljević is an independent and non-profit contemporary art platform and gallery in Zagreb dedicated to promoting cutting edge contemporary Croatian art and building links to the international art scene. It is named after Miroslav Kraljević "whose innovations exercised a decisive influence on Croatian visual art in the beginning of the 20th century".
Public Collection in Macedonia (F.Y.R.M.) that holds work by Miroslav Kraljević
Kraljević studied painting in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
at the prestigious Academy of Arts along with Oskar Herman
Oskar Herman
Oskar Herman was a Croatian Jewish painter. He was one of the group of Croatian artists known as the Munich Circle, who had a strong influence on modern art in Croatia.-Biography:...
, Vladimir Becić
Vladimir Becić
Vladimir Becić was a Croatian painter, best known for his early work in Munich, which had a strong influence on the direction of modern art in Croatia...
and Josip Račić
Josip Račić
Josip Račić was a Croatian painter in the early 20th century. Although he died very young , and his work was mostly created when a student, he is one of the best known of the modern Croatian painters...
. This group of Croatian artists were later called the Munich Circle, known for their influence on modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
in Croatia
Art of Croatia
Croatian art describes the visual arts in Croatia from medieval times to the present. In Early Middle Ages, Croatia was an important centre for art and architecture in south eastern Europe. There were many Croatian artists during the Medieval period, and the arts flourished during the Renaissance...
. After Munich, Kraljević spent time in the family home at Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
, and then in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he produced his best work. He died in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in April 1913, aged 27 from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Miroslav Kraljević painted in many different styles, including Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, Pointillism
Pointillism
Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term Pointillism was first coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works...
and Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
. He also became known for his drawings of grotesque or erotic characters, in a similar way to Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
, and for his sculptures. Working in a variety of media, he used almost every painting and drawing technique in his portraits, figures, still lifes, animals and landscapes. His graphics used etching and woodcut, and sculptures were created in clay, plaster and bronze.
Biography
Miroslav Kraljević was born on 14 December 1885 in GospićGospic
Gospić is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj county. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field....
, in the area of Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
. His early childhood up to 7th grade high school (1888 to 1902) was spent in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, though he completed high school in Gospić (1902–1904). He loved poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and he was often seen drawing. In 1904, the young Kraljević left for Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. There, in addition to studying law, he took painting lessons privately with George Fischhof. After two years he gave up the study of law and devoted himself to painting.
In the autumn of 1906 Kraljević moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where he spent two terms at the private school of Moritz Heymann, known for training excellent printermakers. After seven months in Munich, he enrolled in the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts and became a student of Hugo von Habermann. During his time there (1907–1910) he studied with fellow Croatian painters Josip Račić
Josip Račić
Josip Račić was a Croatian painter in the early 20th century. Although he died very young , and his work was mostly created when a student, he is one of the best known of the modern Croatian painters...
, Oskar Herman
Oskar Herman
Oskar Herman was a Croatian Jewish painter. He was one of the group of Croatian artists known as the Munich Circle, who had a strong influence on modern art in Croatia.-Biography:...
and Vladimir Becić
Vladimir Becić
Vladimir Becić was a Croatian painter, best known for his early work in Munich, which had a strong influence on the direction of modern art in Croatia...
. At that time Munich was an important center of the European art scene, particularly for Realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
, Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
, Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and Jugendstil.
Upon completion of his studies in Munich, Kraljević returned to his family, who had by then moved to Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
, and where he spent 1910 and a good part of 1911. During this time, he painted Self-portrait with Dog (Croatian: Autoportret sa psom), and many of his other well-known portraits, landscapes and other works with rustic themes. He also returned to his interest in sculpture, producing works in clay, plaster and bronze.
In 1911, Kraljević received a state grant to study in Paris. He formally enrolled in the Academy La Grande Chaumiére
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...
, but instead began to paint intensively at the studios of friends. Here Kraljević's creative talent came to the fore, and despite the advancing effects of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, he produced some of his best work, a range of motifs of Parisian life in drawings and oils. After a year, he left Paris and returned home to Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
.
In the autumn of 1912 Kraljević went to Zagreb, where he organized his first solo exhibition, which had a retrospective character. He rented a studio, where he continued to paint until December 1913. Then he went to a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
in Berstovca for treatment. After two months, he left the hospital to return to Zagreb, where he died two days later on 16 April 1913 of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. He was only 27 years old. He is buried in the family grave in Pozega.
Legacy
Miroslav Kraljević is one of the founders of Croatian modern painting, and almost from the beginning was an extremely versatile artist.
His art can be hard to categorize, as he explored many different styles and techniques. Kraljević's graphic work displays strong tonal qualities and an excellent sense of light and dark relationships, perfectly suiting a sensitive temperament which could express extreme joy, but soon transform into deepest melancholy.
The most mature pictures of Kraljević's creative period were produced while he was in Požega: Krave na paši (Cows at Pasture), Bik (Bull), and U staji (In the Stables). Broad strokes and sharp contrasts of color show the artist in his natural element, the countryside, rather than the bourgeois parlor atmosphere. Also in Požega, he painted one of his best-known and finest self-portraits: Self-portrait with Dog. There he created and anthological works of Croatian art, such as Portret tete Luike (Portrait of Aunt Luike), Djevojčica s lutkom (Girl with Dolls) and portraits of his mother and father, and the poetic landscape painted with impressionistic atmosphere. His work contains elements of both Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
(for example in Park Luxembourg), and Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
(Women in the Park). His pipe pictures, also created in Paris, show methods similar to Cézanne.
The Gallery Miroslav Kraljević is an independent and non-profit contemporary art platform and gallery in Zagreb dedicated to promoting cutting edge contemporary Croatian art and building links to the international art scene. It is named after Miroslav Kraljević "whose innovations exercised a decisive influence on Croatian visual art in the beginning of the 20th century".
Works
- Autoportret sa psom (Self-portrait with Dog) 1910. oil on canvas
- Krave na paši (Cows at Pasture) 1910-11. oil on canvas
- Bik (Bull) 1910-11. oil on canvas
- U staji (In the Stables) 1910-11. oil on canvas
- Autoportret s lulom (Self-portrait with a pipe) 1911-12. oil on canvas
- Mali autoportret s paletom (Small self-portrait with a palette) 1911-12. oil on canvas
- Bonvivant 1912. oil on canvas
- Girl with a doll
- Park Luxembourg
- Women in the Park
- Great Park
- Female nude
- Works online
Solo Exhibits
- 1912 Gallery Ulrich, Zagreb - Miroslav Kraljević Solo Exhibit
- 1999 Gallery of Fine Arts, Osijek - Miroslav Kraljević Solo Show: prints and graphics from the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb
- 2004 Adris Gallery, Rovinj - Miroslav Kraljević Exhibit
Group Exhibits
- 1914 International Printmaking Exhibition in Zagreb. An international print exhibition was held at which 160 artists took part, showing 870 works. Miroslav Kraljević was one of 14 Croatian artists exhibiting their work which included prints, drawings, pastels and watercolours.
- 1942 Venice Bienniale - Miroslav Kraljević was one of the Croatian artists' work on display in the Croatian exhibit that year.
- 1973 Art Pavilion Zagreb - Paintings of the Munich Circle
- 2007 Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik - From the Permanent Collection
Public Collections
Public Collections in Croatia that hold works by Miroslav Kraljević- Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik
- MMSU - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka, Rijeka
- Galerija Umjetnina Split, Split
- MSU Muzej Suvremene Umjetnosti / Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
Public Collection in Macedonia (F.Y.R.M.) that holds work by Miroslav Kraljević
- Nacionalna Galerija - Chifte Amam - Skopje, Skopje