Description
Vlaho BUKOVAC (1855-1922) Portrait of a man Oil on canvas signed and dedicated "to D.Montet Souvenir d'amitié" in the lower right corner. Height : 42 42 cm - Width 33 cm (small accidents) Provenance : family of the dedicatee Désiré Montet by descent. Born in Croatia to a modest family of Italian origin, Bukovac discovered painting as a child while selling pictures he made himself. After a long trip to the United States, he left for Paris in 1877. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he studied under Alexandre Cabanel. The following year, he was the first Croatian painter to participate in the Paris Salon and this every year until 1893. In 1894, Bukovac returned to Zagreb and founded his studio. His teaching, between French academicism and national influence, will be the foundation of the new painting of his country. The Obrenovic royal family of Serbia and the entire Croatian intelligentsia commissioned him to paint, including Baroness Ivka Vranyczany and Baroness Rukavina. He was also chosen to decorate the National Theater in Zagreb. Our two portraits were made at a turning point in his career, in France, around 1894, the date of his return to Croatia. Dedicated to his friend, the engraver Désiré Montet, we find all the psychological intensity of his characters.
105
Vlaho BUKOVAC (1855-1922) Portrait of a man Oil on canvas signed and dedicated "to D.Montet Souvenir d'amitié" in the lower right corner. Height : 42 42 cm - Width 33 cm (small accidents) Provenance : family of the dedicatee Désiré Montet by descent. Born in Croatia to a modest family of Italian origin, Bukovac discovered painting as a child while selling pictures he made himself. After a long trip to the United States, he left for Paris in 1877. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he studied under Alexandre Cabanel. The following year, he was the first Croatian painter to participate in the Paris Salon and this every year until 1893. In 1894, Bukovac returned to Zagreb and founded his studio. His teaching, between French academicism and national influence, will be the foundation of the new painting of his country. The Obrenovic royal family of Serbia and the entire Croatian intelligentsia commissioned him to paint, including Baroness Ivka Vranyczany and Baroness Rukavina. He was also chosen to decorate the National Theater in Zagreb. Our two portraits were made at a turning point in his career, in France, around 1894, the date of his return to Croatia. Dedicated to his friend, the engraver Désiré Montet, we find all the psychological intensity of his characters.
