Croatian Museum of Naïve Art

Coordinates: 45°48′55.5″N 15°58′24″E / 45.815417°N 15.97333°E / 45.815417; 15.97333

Croatian Museum of Naïve Art
Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti
Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb
Established	1952
Location	Sv. Ćirila i Metoda 3, Zagreb, Croatia
Type	Art museum
Collection size	1,850 objects[1]
Visitor figures	12,000 (2009)[2]
Director	Vladimir Crnković[1]
Curator	Mira Francetić Svjetlana Sumpor[1]
Website	http://www.hmnu.hr

The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art (Croatian: Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti) is a fine art museum in Zagreb, Croatia dedicated to the work of naïve artists of the 20th century. The museum holdings consist of over 1,850 works of art - paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known international artists in the genre.

From time to time, the museum organizes topics and retrospective exhibitions by naïve artists, expert meetings and educational workshops and playrooms.^[1]

The museum is located on the first floor of the 18th-century Raffay Palace in the Gornji Grad at Sv. Ćirila i Metoda 3.

History

In 1952, the Peasant Art Gallery (Seljačka umjetnička galerija) was founded in Zagreb.^[3][4] By 1956 it was known as the Gallery of Primitive Art (Galerija primitivne umjetnosti), and was then part of the Zagreb Municipal Galleries (today the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb).^[4][5] Since 1994, in line with a decision by the Croatian Parliament, its title has been the Croatian Museum of Naive Art.^[6] From the very beginning the establishment was organized and run according to strict museological principles, and is deemed to be the world's first museum of naive art.^[3][7]

Naïve Art in Croatia

Naïve, or primitive art is a distinct segment of the art of the 20th century. In Croatia, naive art was at first connected with the works of peasants and working men, ordinary men and women, of whom the most successful, over the course of time, became professional artists. Naive art assumes the work of artists who are more or less self-taught, painters and sculptors with no formal art training, but who have achieved their own creative style and a high level of art. An identifiably individual style and poetic nature distinguishes the Naive from other "amateur" painters and sculptors, and from the general self-taught artist. The view of a Naive artist will usually display unusual proportions and perspective, and certain illogicalities of form and space. Such characteristics are the expression of a free creative imagination, in a similar way to other 20th century art movements such as Symbolism, Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism.^[1]

Collections

The Croatian Museum of Naive Art holds more than 1,850 works of art – paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints. Of those, around 80 pieces are on display, ranging from the early 1930s to the 1980s. The focus is on Croatian artists – of the celebrated Hlebine School, and a few of the more highly valued independent artists. In addition, artworks of significant artists of other nations are also on show.

The collection features early masters of the Hlebine school, with works starting from the 1930s. The renowned Ivan Generalić was among the first of the naive painters in Croatia to develop a distinctive creative style, and achieve a high professional standard in his art. Other artists from the first generation of the Hlebine school include Franjo Mraz a contemporary of Generalić, and Mirko Virius, who came a few years later. The stone sculptures of Lavoslav Torti, and those in wood of Petar Smajić are the first examples of Croatian naive sculpture.^[1]

During the 1930s, social issues dominated, and rural realism is reflected in the early subjects and gritty styles. Later work shows a more idealised landscape that owes more to the imagination than the outdoor scenery. The work of the second generation of Hlebine School artists, such as Ivan Večenaj, and Mijo Kovačić date from the 1950s and 60s, and include burlesque and grotesque figures, as well as works inspired by Biblical topics, with a strong use of colour. The painter Ivan Lacković Croata, known for twilight scenes and distinctive, melancholic elongated landscapes, is considered one of the most brilliant and remarkable draughtsmen in naive art.^[1]

The collection also includes the work of independent artists such as Ivan Rabuzin who by the end of the 1950s—1960s was creating works of lyricism with systematic abstraction and stylisation. Emerik Feješ work is an example of urban Naive, with themes of exclusively city scenes and architecture characterized by geometrical composition and vivid, expressive use of colour. Matija Skurjeni, another distinguished artist created fantasy works with lyrical landscapes with powerful distortions.^[1]

Artists represented in the permanent collection include:^[1]

Croatian artists

• Eugen Buktenica (1914–1997)
• Emerik Feješ (1904–1969)
• Dragan Gaži (1930–1983)
• Ivan Generalić (1914–1992)
• Josip Generalić (born 1936)
• Drago Jurak (1911–1994)
• Mijo Kovačić (born 1935)
• Ivan Lacković Croata (1931–2004)
• Martin Mehkek (born 1936)
• Franjo Mraz (1910–1981)
• Ivan Rabuzin (born 1921)
• Matija Skurjeni (1898–1990)
• Petar Smajić (1910–1985)
• Slavko Stolnik (1929–1991)
• Lavoslav Torti (1875–1942)
• Ivan Večenaj (born 1920)
• Mirko Virius (1889–1943)

Artists from other countries

• Enrico Benassi (1902–1978)
• Willem Van Genk (born 1927)
• Pietro Ghizzardi (1906–1986)
• Sofija Naletilić Penavuša (1913–1994)
• Nikifor (around 1895 – 1968)
• Germain van der Steen (1897–1985)
• Simon Schwartzenberg (1895–1990)

Special Exhibitions

The Museum organises special themed exhibits focusing on individual artists, or to highlight specific aspects of naive art. Recent such exhibits have included "Foreign Masters in the Collection", "Unknown Skurjeni", and "Ivan Lacković / Artistic Eksperiments".^[8]

In addition to themed exhibits in the museum, touring exhibits are arranged to other places within Croatia, and abroad in order to to reach out to a wider audience. Artwork from the museum's holdings have recently been on exhibit in Japan (2006),^[9][10] Italy (2002),^[11] USA (2000),^[12] and Slovakia (2000)^[13]. It is estimated that over 200,000 visitors^[12] saw these international shows.

See Also

• Croatian art of the 20th century

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Masterpieces of Naive Art". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naïve Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/default.asp. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 
2. ^ Martina Pauček Šljivak (2 August 2010). "U muzejima svjesni da trebaju produžiti radno vrijeme, ali tvrde da za to nemaju novca [Museums would like to open longer hours but say that would take more money]" (in Croatian). Vjesnik. http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/2010/08/02/Clanak.asp?r=zag&c=3. Retrieved 23 February 2011. "According to some tourists and museums statistics, tourists prefer the Zagreb City Museum and the Museum of Naive Art and most are happy to go to the new Museum of Contemporary Art" 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Croatian Museum Of Naive Art". saatchi-gallery.co.uk. Saatchi Gallery. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/museums/full-museum-details/profile/ac_id/843. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Vodič kroz postav". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/vodic.asp. Retrieved 24 February 2011. 
5. ^ "History". msu.hr. Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb. http://www.msu.hr/#/en/65/. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
6. ^ "Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti [Croatian Museum of Naïve Art]". kultura.hr. Croatian Ministry of Culture. http://www.kultura.hr/hr/Ustanove/HMNU. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 
7. ^ Risto Karajkov (23 July 2009). "The Croatian Museum of Naive Art". southeast-europe.eu. European Commission. http://www.southeast-europe.eu/index.php?id=807. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
8. ^ "Realised Projects". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/aktivnost_realiziraniprojekti.asp. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
9. ^ "Exhibition TAIZI HARADA AND FELLOW PAINTERS FROM CROATIA: Big new success of Croatian Naive Painters in Japan". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/vijesti_realiziraniizlozbe_view.asp?v=20. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
10. ^ "The Exhibition Taiji Harada and Fellow Painters from Croatia in Japan". Culturenet.hr Web Portal to Croatian Culture. http://www.culturenet.hr/default2.aspx?id=21395. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
11. ^ "Da Rousseau a Ligabue. Naif?". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/vijesti_realiziraniizlozbe_view.asp?v=7. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "The Fantastical World of Croatian Naive Art". Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/vijesti_realiziraniizlozbe_view.asp?v=9. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
13. ^ "Insita 2000". hmnu.org. Croatian Museum of Naive Art. http://www.hmnu.org/en/vijesti_realiziraniizlozbe_view.asp?v=8. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 

External links

• The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art official site (Croatian) (English)