Ivan Rabuzin (27 March 1921 – 18 December 2008)
was a Croatian
naïve art
Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is ...
ist. French art critic
Anatole Jakovsky described him in 1972 as "one of the greatest naïve painters of all times and countries".
Rabuzin's father was a miner, and Ivan was the sixth of his eleven children. Ivan worked as a carpenter for many years, and did not begin painting until 1956, when he was thirty-five years old. He had little formal training as an artist, but his first solo exhibition in 1960
proved successful and he changed careers, becoming a professional painter in 1962. His 1963 exhibition in Galerie Mona Lisa in Paris marked the beginning of the rise of his international reputation.
Rabuzin's art is characterized by dense geometric patterns of vegetation and clouds that form rich,
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
-like structures painted in gentle pastel colors.
His motifs were described as an "idealistic reconstruction of the world".
He took a stab at
industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of the upscale ''Suomi'' tableware by
Timo Sarpaneva
Timo Tapani Sarpaneva (31 October 1926 – 6 October 2006) was an influential Finnish designer, sculptor, and educator best known in the art world for innovative work in glass, which often merged attributes of display art objects with utilitaria ...
that Rabuzin decorated for the German Rosenthal
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
maker's ''Studio Linie''.
Rabuzin was active in politics as a member of
Croatian Democratic Union, and from 1993 to 1999 he was also a member of the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sab ...
(in the
second and
third assemblies).
Rabuzin stopped painting in 2002 due to an illness.
He died on 18 December 2008 in a hospital in
Varaždin
)
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,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
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.
See also
* ''
On the hills - virgin forest''
References
External links
Rabuzin Fine Art - Rabuzin silkscreens and information source on the artist's life and WorkIvan Rabuzin Gallery - Artist's homepageRabuzin oil paintings, Rabuzin serigraphs, Rabuzin prints
* http://fineartcritics.blogspot.com/2010/02/ivan-rabuzin-1921-2008.html
Galerie St. Etienne
1921 births
2008 deaths
People from Novi Marof
Croatian naïve painters
Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament
Croatian Democratic Union politicians
20th-century Croatian painters
Croatian male painters
Yugoslav painters
20th-century Croatian male artists
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