Izidor (Iso) Kršnjavi (; 22 April 1845 – 3 February 1927) was a Croatian painter, art historian, curator and politician.

Biography

Born in Našice, his first art lessons were obtained in Osijek, where he studied with Hugo Conrad von Hötzendorf. He then went to Vienna to study philosophy and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. At this time, he was already providing aesthetic and philosophical articles to Croatian journals. He later studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

and lived in Italy from 1872–77, where he copied the old masters. With the help of

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor. Early life an ...

, who he had met in Rome, he became a professor of archaeology and art history at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

. The next year, he helped establish the Society of Arts, and was, for many years, it secretary and spokesman. He also served as the first Director of the

Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters ( hr, Strossmayerova galerija starih majstora) is a fine art museum in Zagreb, Croatia exhibiting the collection donated to the city by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1884. Located at 11 Nikola Šubić Zrin ...

and was one of the founders of the Museum of Arts and Crafts. In 1884, he came into conflict with Strossmayer and his supporters in the People's Party, where he supported the pro-Hungarian faction, which allowed him to serve in the Croatian Parliament 1884-87. From 1887 to 1891, he studied law and became the Minister of Education and Religion in the

Károly Khuen-Héderváry Count Károly Khuen-Héderváry de Hédervár, born as ''Károly Khuen de Belás'' ( hr, Dragutin Khuen-Héderváry, 23 May 1849 – 16 February 1918) was a Hungarian politician and the Ban of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the late ninet ...

administration. While in that office, he established several schools, including one for the blind and deaf, introduced

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

classes and helped to form the foundation for a unified school system. He had to leave the ministry in 1897, after a protest in which he burned a Hungarian flag. He returned to the University and, in 1906, joined the

Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influenti ...

. Shortly thereafter, he began painting again. In addition to being a painter and critic, he also translated

Dante's Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

into Croatian and was the author of poems, travelogues and two novels. He died in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. In Croatian film ''

Countess Dora ''Countess Dora'' ( hr, Kontesa Dora) is a Croatian pseudo-biographical film about Croatian composer Dora Pejačević. Filmed in 1990, it was released in public in 1993. It was written and directed by Zvonimir Berković. It was Croatia's submissio ...

'' (1993) he is played by

Relja Bašić Relja Bašić (14 February 1930 – 7 April 2017) was a Croatian actor. With a career that lasted more than half a century, he is considered one of the most prolific performers of that country. Biography Bašić was born on 14 February 1930 i ...

References

Sources

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External links

Essekeri: Biography of Isidor Kršnjavi
(English version in preparation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Krsnjavi, Isidor 1845 births 1927 deaths Croatian politicians Croatian art historians Croatian writers 19th-century Croatian painters 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters 19th-century Croatian male artists 20th-century Croatian male artists Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery