Jerolim Miše (25 September 1890 – 14 September 1970), was a Croatian painter, teacher, and art critic. He painted portraits, still lifes and landscapes of his native

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. A member of the Group of Three, Group of Four, and the Independent Group of Artists. In addition to being an exhibiting artist, Jerolim Miše taught and encouraged other artists for over 60 years, wrote articles and critiqued visual arts. As both a painter and a critic, he made an enormous contribution to modern art in Croatia.

Biography

Jerolim Miše was born on 25 September 1890 in Split. He began to study painting at the craft school in Split, then attended the

Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb The Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb ( hr, Akademija likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu or ALU) is a Croatian art school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art ...

, but moved to Rome, and finally Florence where he completed his formal training at the Accademia Internazionale. The move to Rome came after an incident where he published criticism of his teacher

Menci Clement Crnčić Menci Clement Crnčić (Bruck an der Mur, Austria, 3 April 1865 – Zagreb, 9 November 1930) was a Croatian painter, printmaker, teacher and museum director. He studied painting and drawing in Vienna and Munich, and trained in graphic arts in Vien ...

in the paper Zvono. During his time in Italy (1891–1914), he wrote critiques and reviews of the Italian contemporary arts scene for newspapers and journals back home. He continued to write and publish stimulating articles about the visual arts scene right though his life built up a reputation as an articulate and well informed critic. On the eve of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Miše returned to Split. During the war he was conscripted, and afterwards spent a number of years (1917–1937) teaching in schools in

Krapina Krapina (; hu, Korpona) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region ...

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. His first solo exhibition was held in 1914 in Split, and from 1917 he participated in the exhibitions of the Spring Salon in Zagreb. During the period 1921-1927 he exhibited with the Independent Group of Artists (''Grupa nezavisnih umjetnika'') whose other members were

Ljubo Babić Ljubomir Tito Stjepan Babić (14 June 1890 – 14 May 1974) was a Croatian artist, museum curator and literary critic. As an artist, he worked in a variety of media including oils, tempera, watercolour, drawing, etching, and lithography. He was ...

Vladimir Becić Vladimir Becić (1886–1954) was a Croatian painter, best known for his early work in Munich, which had a strong influence on the direction of modern art in Croatia. Becić studied painting in Munich at the prestigious Academy of Arts along w ...

Jozo Kljaković Jozo Kljaković (3 March 188910 October 1969) was a Croatia, Croatian painter. He studied in Prague and then at an Arts institute in Rome. He also studied fresco painting in Paris. Kljaković was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb fr ...

Frano Kršinić Frano Kršinić (24 July 1897 – 1 January 1982) was a Croatian sculptor active in former Yugoslavia. Along with Ivan Meštrović and Antun Augustinčić, he is considered one of the three most important Croatian sculptors of the 20th centur ...

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

Marin Studin Marin Studin (1895—1960) was a Croatian sculptor. Biography Studin was born in 1895 in Kaštel Novi village in a family of farmers, not to far away from Split. He got his education in art at the Academy of Art, Zagreb and spent two years, from ...

Zlatko Šulentić Zlatko Šulentić (16 March 1893 – 9 July 1971) was a Croatian painter of landscapes and portraits. He was one of the second generation of Croatian modern painters, a follower of the Munich Circle painters. He also studied at the Academy of F ...

and

Vladimir Varlaj Vladimir Varlaj (25 August 1895 – 15 August 1962) was a Croatian artist, a member of the Group of Four during the Zagreb Spring Salon of the 1920s, and a founder of the Independent Group of Artists. He was influential in the Zagreb modern art s ...

. In 1928, he was part of the Group of Four (''Grupa četvorice'') with (Ljubo Babić, Vladimir Becić and

Maksimilijan Vanka Maksimilijan "Maxo" Vanka (May 11, 1889 – February 2, 1963) was a Croatian-American artist. He is best known for the series of murals he completed in 1937 and 1941 at St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, Pennsylvania. Biography Early ...

) and from 1929 the Group of Three (''Grupa Trojice'') which consisted of himself,

and

. He exhibited abroad in group exhibits in Paris (1919) and London (1930). In 1922 he undertook a study tour of Munich, Berlin and Dresden, where he got to know the work of the old masters, and Cézanne. He visited Paris in 1925 and 1929, events that were crucial in forming his mature artistic style. He painted many portraits, self-portraits and still lifes. He immortalized the landscape of Brač, Šolta, Krk, Korčula and the Dubrovnik region. In 1937, he went to teach at the Academy of Art in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, until 1943 when he moved to the

where he worked until his retirement in 1961. Jerolim Miše died on 14 September 1970 in Split.

Legacy

While studying in Rome and Florence, Miše was more interested in art theory than practice, spending time with the Rome avant-garde circle, questioning issues such as Viennese

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

as opposed to Italian

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

and post-

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

trends. There, he also spent time with fellow Split native

. However, Miše’s painting from that period do not show the influence of

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

secessionist linearism nor heroic mythology. His motifs are simple, the content minimalist. Miše's early work consisted mainly of portraits, but he later developed into a landscape painter, and finally began to paint everything he saw: views, landscapes, portraits, still lifes, animals. His later landscapes of his native Dalmatia capture an experience of the colour and atmosphere. Miše went to Paris for the first time in 1925, and according to the painter himself, that is when his “reorientation” started. For his retrospective exhibition in 1955 at the

Modern Gallery, Zagreb Modern Gallery ( hr, Moderna galerija; since 2021 the National Museum of Modern Art, ) is a museum in Zagreb, Croatia that holds the most important and comprehensive collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings by 19th and 20th century Croati ...

, he wrote: "I started with the

Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

and I was already thirty-two when I came into contact with

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

and Cézanne". In 1928, for the first time he spent a long period in

Supetar Supetar (, it, San Pietro della Brazza) is a town on the northern side of the Dalmatian island of Brač, in the Split-Dalmatia County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827. The Town of Supetar includes Supetar itself and th ...

on the island of

Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide. The island's talle ...

where he painted a series of views of the town with its empty streets in the summer heat and a number of landscapes and seascapes that are expressive colourist works reminiscent of Cézanne’s and Renoir’s painting styles. In his work can be identified contacts with contemporary German and French art styles. The art historian and curator,

Igor Zidić Igor Zidić (born 10 February 1939) is a Croatian art historian, art critic, poet and essayist. He is considered a top expert on Croatian modern art. Zidić was born in Split, where he graduated from the Classical Gymnasium. He obtained a diplom ...

summarized the conflicting styles in Miše's work "...the struggle between the hard, clear volumes of secessionist art, and the vibrating surfaces of impressionism... he is wrestling between the (German) fascination with the subject and the (French) obsession with light."

Works

* Self-portrait (''Autoportret''), 1916 * Portrait of a Bride (''Portret zaručnice'') * Girl with Melon (''Djevojku s dinjom'') * Portrait of Ivo Tartaglia (''Portret Ive Tartaglie''), 1919 * Seascape, Supetar (''Primorsku vedutu, Supetar'') * Noon in Supetar, (''Podne u Supetaru'') 1928 * Portrait of the Painter Rački (''Portret slikara Račkog''), 1929 * Red House (''Crvene kuće''), 1930 * Noon in Koločep (''Podne u Koločepu''), 1931 * Young Girl (''Djevojčica''), 1932 * Grouper (''Škarpina''), 1934 * May Morning on Lopud (''Majsko jutro na Lopudu'') * Still life with brushes (''Mrtva priroda s kistovima''), 1961

Exhibitions

Solo shows

During his lifetime, Miše held solo exhibits in Split, Slavonski Brod, Rijeka,

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

, Zagreb and Belgrade. Selected recent solo exhibitions include * 2008 Jerolim Miše - Gallery Adris, Rovinj * 1990 Jerolim Miše -

Art Pavilion, Zagreb The Art pavillion in Zagreb ( hr, Umjetnički paviljon u Zagrebu) is an art gallery in Zagreb, Croatia. The pavilion is located on the Lenuci Horseshoe, Lower town area of the city, south of Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square, on the northern side of ...

* 1970 Jerolim Miše Retrospective -

Gallery of Fine Arts, Split The Museum of Fine Arts ( hr , Galerija umjetnina), is an art museum in Split, Croatia containing works from the 14th century up to the present day providing an overview of the artistic developments in the local art scene. The museum was founded ...

Group shows

Selected recent group exhibitions include * 2006 Croatian Collection - Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje

Public collections

Jerolim Miše's work can be found in the following public collections Croatia *

(''Galerija Umjetnina'') Split *

Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb The Museum of Contemporary Art ( hr, Muzej suvremene umjetnosti, often abbreviated to MSU) is a contemporary art museum located on Dubrovnik Avenue in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the biggest and most modern museum in the country. History The museum ...

(''Muzej Suvremene Umjetnosti'') *

(''Galerija Moderna'') Macedonia (F.Y.R.M.) * Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mise, Jerolim 1890 births 1970 deaths Croatian art critics Vladimir Nazor Award winners 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters Croatian expatriates in Italy 20th-century Croatian male artists Burials at Lovrinac Cemetery