Modern Gallery ( hr, Moderna galerija; since 2021 the National Museum of Modern Art, ) is a museum in

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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

that holds the most important and comprehensive collection of

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s and

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

s by 19th and 20th century Croatian artists. The collection numbers around 10,000 works of art, housed since 1934 in the historic Vranyczany Palace in the centre of Zagreb, overlooking the

Zrinjevac Park Zrinjevac may mean: * Zrinjevac (Mostar), a central park in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Zrinjevac (Osijek), a park in Osijek, Croatia * Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square ( hr, Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog, popularl ...

. A secondary gallery is the

Josip Račić Josip Račić (22 March 1885 – 19 June 1908) was a Croatian painter in the early 20th century. Although he died very young (he was only 23), and his work was mostly created during his student years, he is one of the best known modern Croatian p ...

Studio at Margaretska 3.

History

The Modern Gallery, originally the National Gallery for Croatian Art, dates from the early 1900s, when it was founded by the Art Society with paintings and sculptures acquired by their members, including a donation from Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. In 1899,

Izidor Kršnjavi 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 Hötze ...

, gave a presentation to the Art Society in Zagreb, with the idea of establishing the Gallery. His proposal was recorded in the Social Exhibitions Statute () of 1901. In the spring of 1905, to mark the Society’s 30th anniversary, three works of art were bought for the future holdings of the Modern Gallery. That year, 1905, is considered to be the official date the Gallery was founded, due to the holdings which were put together at the time. However, the collection grew gradually and it was not open for public viewing until 1914, in a single room of today’s Museum of Arts and Crafts building, where it was available only to those who showed a special interest in it. As the collection expanded, the Gallery moved to its current building, the Vranyczany Palace on Zrinjevac Park in 1934 and it has been there, with a pause during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, up until the present day. The Vranyczany Palace was designed by the Viennese architect Otto Hofer, and constructed in 1882 by Ferdo Kondrat for

Baron Lujo Vranyczany Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. Since the end of 19th century the building has changed ownership frequently, and has been restored several times. Through the years, the Vranyczany building has entertained some well-known figures in Croatia's cultural, political and economic life. From its balcony in November 1884, Bishop

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 ...

watched the celebrations organised in his honour on the occasion of the opening of the gallery named after him. The splendid receptions of the past have now been replaced by the contemplative atmosphere of Zagreb's gallery of modern art. The Palace underwent a complete renovation between 1993 and 2005, when the current exhibition was opened to the public. Two floors of the palace have become a modern-equipped gallery showing the permanent collection of Croatian modern painting and sculpture. In the completely refurbished historic rooms, the Modern Gallery presents ''"Two Hundred Years of Croatian Fine Arts (1800-2000)"'', a representative selection of 650-700 of the best works by painters, sculptors and medal makers. The Modern Gallery has become the best known, and most complete Croatian modern art museum. Retrospectives and monographic exhibitions of works by the most prominent Croatian artists have been taking place there since the end of the 1960s, as well as theme exhibitions of Croatian and European modern art.

Collection

The Modern Gallery in Zagreb holds the richest and most important collection of Croatian art of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today the holding numbers around 10,000 works of art including paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphics, medallions and medals, as well as photographs and new media. More than 700 Croatian works of art belonging to the 19th and 20th century are on display. The exhibition extends across two floors of the Palace and the main staircase, displaying the works of individual artists, and also showing their place in the Croatian modern art scene and within modern Croatian society in general. According to Biserka Rauter Plančić, the current Director of the Modern Gallery, ''"The Gallery’s mission is to record, as much as possible, the events and changes in Croatian art which took place over the two centuries of building and breaking down the perception of the world, as well as the perception of workmanship."'' In addition to its permanent collection, the Modern Gallery also holds special exhibits. In 2009, a multi-sensory Tactile Gallery MG, was opened to help vision-impaired visitors experience major Croatian modern paintings and sculptures through touch and sound. The Modern Gallery’s holdings continue to expand and once a year, a New Acquisitions exhibition is held. A new multi-media exhibition entitled “Ikonografija grada u hrvatskom slikarstvu u prvoj polovici 20 st.“ (Iconography of Towns in Croatian Paintings from the First Half of the 20th Century), was opened to the public in April 2010. It presents the viewer with a motif of a town in paintings, drawing, graphics, art photography; on posters and film, and in literature and music. The exhibit covers over 150 artefacts including works of the most significant Croatian artists of the 20th century, from the Munich circle to socialism and the beginnings of the abstract art. Artists represented in the permanent collection of the Modern Gallery include: *

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 ...

Vojin Bakić Vojin Bakić ( sr-cyrl, Војин Бакић; 5 June 1915 – 18 December 1992) was a prominent Yugoslav sculptor. Educated at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and by Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršinić, Bakić's early works were dominated by ...

Petar Barišić Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. ...

* Ivo Deković * Marijan Detoni * Ivo Dulčić *

Dušan Džamonja Dušan Džamonja ( sr, Душан Џамоња, ; 31 January 1928 – 14 January 2009) was a Yugoslav sculptor of Serbian ancestry. Education and career Džamonja was born in 1928 in Strumica, former Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In ...

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 ...

* F. Bilak *

Vlaho Bukovac Vlaho Bukovac (french: Blaise Bukovac; it, Biagio Faggioni; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painter and academic. His life and work were eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed gre ...

Vladimir Gašparić Gapo Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukra ...

Vilko Gecan Vilko Gecan (16 June 1894 – 25 June 1973) was a Croatian painter, influential in the Zagreb modern art scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He is best known for his expressionist paintings and drawings, and for his contributions to the local avantgarde ...

Josip Generalić Josip Generalić (1935–2004) was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava r ...

Oton Gliha Oton Gliha (Črnomelj, 21 May 1914 - Zagreb, 19 July 1999) was a Croatian artist, born in Slovenia. A graduate of the Academy of fine Arts in Zagreb, Gliha continued his studies in Paris, Vienna and Munich. He is best known for his series of abstr ...

Krsto Hegedušić Krsto Hegedušić (26 November 1901 – 7 April 1975) was a Croatian painter, illustrator and theater designer. His most famous paintings depict the harsh life of the Croatian peasantry in the manner of naive art. He was one of the founders of ...

* Ljubo Ivančić *

Franz Jaschke Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

Anto Jerković Anto or Antos may refer to: * Anto (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name * Antos (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name * Antofagasta PLC Antofagasta plc is a Chilean multinational. It is o ...

* Vasilije Josip Jordan *

Leo Junek Leo (Leopold) Junek (25 September 1899 – 13 July 1993) was a Croatian–French painter. He was a founding member of the Group Zemlja (Earth Group), one of the most influential movements in the history of Croatian art. He studied at the Zagre ...

Vjekoslav Karas Vjekoslav Karas (19 May 1821 - 5 July 1858) was a Croatian painter, considered a pioneer of a new era of Croatian painting and art in general. Life Born in Karlovac, Croatia, Karas was sent to be educated in Italy in 1838. While in Rome, he drew ...

Ivo Kerdić Ivo Kerdić (1881–1953) was a Croatian sculptor, best known for his metalwork and medallions. Biography Ivo Kerdić was born 19 May 1881 in Davor, a small village near Slavonski Brod, Croatia, at that time in Austria-Hungary. The son of a ...

* Zlatko Keser * Josip Klarica *

Slavko Kopač Slavko Kopač (August 21, 1913 – November 23, 1995) was a French painter, sculptor and poet. Kopač graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1937. After graduation, as a young artist, he studied in Paris thanks to a scholarship from ...

Kuzma Kovačić Kuzma Kovačić (born 6 June 1952 ) is a Croatian academic sculptor and professor. Kovačić was born at the island of Hvar, where he attended gymnasium. In 1976 he graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He is the author of the alta ...

Miroslav Kraljević Miroslav Kraljević (14 December 1885 – 16 April 1913) was a Croatian painter, printmaker and sculptor, active in the early part of the 20th century. He is one of the founders of modern art in Croatia. Kraljević studied painting in Vienna an ...

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 ...

* Vatroslav Kuliš *

Ferdinand Kulmer Ferdinand Kulmer (29 January 1925 – 11 November 1998) was a Croatian abstract painter and teacher. He studied at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts, the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, and took special classes with Đuro Tiljak. Kulmer worked in th ...

* Ivan Lesjak * Tihomir Lončar * Nikola Mašić *

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 ...

* Matko Mijić *

Karlo Mijić Karlo Mijić (1887–1964) was a Yugoslav painter noted for his paintings of the Bosnian landscape. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Mijic, Karlo 1887 births 1964 deaths Yugoslav painters ...

Robert Frangeš Mihanović The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Jerolim Miše 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. A member of the Group of Three, Group of Four, and the Independent ...

* Antun Motika * Edo Murtić * Sofija Naletilić Penavuša * Zoltan Novak * Mladen Pejaković *

Ivan Picelj Ivan Picelj (28 July 1924 – 22 February 2011) was a contemporary Croatian painter, sculptor and graphic designer. Picelj developed a specific variation of geometric abstraction in Croatian painting by using primary colours and by reducing the sh ...

Dimitrije Popović Dimitrije Popović (born 4 March 1951) is an eminent Montenegrin and Croatian painter, sculptor, art critic and philosopher born in Cetinje, Montenegro. He attended elementary and high school in his hometown and graduated from the Academy of Fine ...

* Zlatko Prica *

Ferdo Quiquerez Ferdinand (Ferdo) von Quiquerez, also called Ferdo Kikerec (17 March 1845, Budapest – 12 January 1893, Zagreb) was a Croatian painter of French ancestry. Among his most popular history paintings are the ''Arrival of the Croats at Sea'' (1870), ...

Mirko Racki Mirko (Cyrillic script: Мирко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. By Slavic languages, Slavic etymology, the name is composed of the root ''mir'' (meaning peace) and hypocorism, hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' usual in South Slavic ...

Slava Raškaj Slava Raškaj (; 2 January 1877 – 29 March 1906) was a Croatian painter, considered to be the greatest Croatian watercolorist of the late 19th and early 20th century. Deaf since birth, Raškaj was schooled in Vienna and Zagreb, where her mento ...

* Ivan Rendić * Ivo Režek * Branko Ružić *

Đuro Seder Đuro Seder (29 November 1927 – 2 May 2022) was a Croatian painter. He lived and worked in Zagreb. Career At the beginning of his career he worked as an illustrator, image editor, and designer at various magazines. He was one of the founding me ...

Miljenko Stančić Miljenko Stančić (1 March 1926 – 13 May 1977) was a Croatian painter and graphic artist born in Varaždin. He is famous for his vast painting oeuvre of Varaždin cityscapes. Along with Ljubo Ivančić, Ivan Kožarić, Valerije Michieli and ...

* Milan Steiner * Dalibor Stošić *

Mihael Stroy Mihael is a masculine given name with the same etymology as Michael. Notable people with the name include: *Mihael Ambrož (1808–1864), Slovenian politician *Mihael Brejc (born 1947), Slovenian politician, Member of the European Parliament * Mi ...

* Gabrijel Stupica * Ivo Šebalj *

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 ...

Marino Tartaglia Marino Tartaglia (3 August 1894 – 21 April 1984) was a Croatian painter and art teacher, for many years a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb. From 1948 he was a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He received t ...

* Marija Ujević *

Milivoj Uzelac Milivoj Uzelac (1897–1977) was a painter influential in the Zagreb modern art scene of the 1920s and 30s. During the Zagreb Spring Salon of the 1920s, he participated with Vilko Gecan, Marijan Trepše and Vladimir Varlaj as the Group of Four. ...

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 ...

* Emanuel Vidović * Zlatan Vrkljan * Josip Zanki * Ivan Zasche In addition to the permanent display, occasional exhibitions of local and foreign artists are also held. For example, from December 2008 to March 2009, the first complete retrospective of Josip Račić's works was on display on the first floor of the gallery; Račić is one of the most important representatives of Croatian Modernist painting. The gallery publishes monographs on artists and their works in a catalogue series called Modern Croatian Art, and in other publications.

References

External links

Modern Gallery official website
{{authority control Art museums and galleries in Zagreb

Donji grad, Zagreb Art museums established in 1914 1914 establishments in Croatia Neoclassical architecture in Croatia

History

Collection

See also

References

External links