Professional paper
An Unknown Painting by Ljubo Babić in Kaštela
Mario Klaić
; Muzej grada Kaštela, Kaštel Lukšić
Abstract
The article discusses the “finding” of a large oil painting on canvas in Kaštela, believed to be of unknown origin, date of execution and by unknown author. The painting is signed “Lj. B. 924.” in the lower right corner. The historical, iconographic and stylistic analysis revealed that the painting, representing Zagreb’s main street Ilica, is an autograph work by Ljubo Babić, one of the key figures of Croatian Modernism, executed in 1924. The motif of the street was frequent in Babić’s oeuvre, and some of his paintings of the said motif are considered capital works of Croatian painting. The attribution and dating of the painting were deduced through comparison with Babić’s painting of similar motif entitled Ilica 1928. The inexistence of a title neither on the painting itself, nor in written or oral tradition, prompted a research of press reports of the period, as well as of available documents and catalogues starting from the painted motif and the year of execution, which enabled the conclusion that the painting’s title was Ilica. The artwork was first displayed on the eight exhibition of the Independent Artists Group in 1924 in Split, when it was acquired by the Cooperative Union (Zadružni savez) to be preserved first in Split and then in Kaštela. In comparison to the known and preserved works of Ljubo Babić, the oil painting Ilica is one of the artist’s largest canvases (180 × 150.5 cm) as well as one of his most accomplished works. It was executed in the period of Babić’s activity within the Independent Artists Group (1921–1927) formed of fellow artists who aimed at the creation of a national artistic expression through their individual painterly language. Retrospective exhibitions, catalogues and available bibliography have thus far presented all known Babić’s works, while the discussed painting in Kaštela has remained lost and unknown to the scholarly public. The painting’s attribution, evaluation and dating are significant in the context of the cultural image of Kaštela and Croatia, as well as within the painter’s oeuvre.
Keywords
Ljubo Babić; oil on canvas painting; Kaštela; Zagreb; the Ilica Street; Modernism
Hrčak ID:
136386
URI
Publication date:
17.3.2015.
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