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 scene of the 1920s and 1930s, best known for his landscape paintings and his contribution in bringing wider European influences to Croatian art.

Biography

Vladimir Varlaj was born 25 August 1895 in Zagreb. After he completed primary school in Zagreb, the family lived for a time in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

, where Vladimir attended high school. In 1911 he continued his education in Zagreb, firstly at the private painting school of

Tomislav Krizman Tomislav Krizman (1882–1955), was a Croatian painter, graphic artist, costume and set designer, teacher, author and organizer of cultural events. He painted in oils and tempera, although he is principally remembered for his remarkable graphic ar ...

, where he met fellow students

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 ...

and

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. ...

. During 1913-14, Varlaj went on to study at the College of Arts and Crafts, at the same time working in the photographic studio of Mikhail Mercep. During the First World War, in 1915 Varlaj was mobilized and his unit sent to the Russian front. By 1917, he returned from the war as an invalid. One year later, he moved to Prague, joining his friends Milivoj Uzelac, Vilko Gecan and

Marijan Trepše Marijan Trepše (25 March 1887 – 4 October 1964) was a Croatian painter, graphic artist and set designer, considered to be one of the key figures in Croatian art in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919 the seventh exhibition of the Sprin ...

. He enrolled at the Academy there, but never completed his studies. Returning to Zagreb at the end of the war, Varlaj, Uzelac, Gecan and Trepše became known as the Group of Four, or the Prague Four. They exhibited together at the Spring Salon in Zagreb from 1919, and were well received by audiences and critics. In 1920, Varlaj's work also appeared at an international exhibition in Geneva, and from 1921, he was a member of the Independent Group of Artists (''Grupa nezavisnih umjetnika'') whose other members were Ljubo Babić,

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, Ivan Meštrović,

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 G ...

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, fro ...

and

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 ...

. In 1934, by then a well-known painter, Varlaj completed his official training by graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in the class of

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 ...

. In his later years he suffered from ill health, and for over 10 years used a wheelchair. Vladimir Varlaj died on 15 August 1962 in Zagreb.

Legacy

Varlaj was one of the founders of the Group of Independent Artists. From 1921 to 1925, the group organized numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, making a great contribution to the development of visual arts in Croatia. From 1920 to the early 1940s he produced numerous landscapes in watercolour and oils of Gorski Kotar, the Kvarner region, and

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 ...

n scenes from Korčula,

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, and Vis. Along with these marine landscapes were views of pastures and valleys from continental Croatia ( Klek, Dobra, and around Zagreb). The 1920s were the most intensely creative period of Varlaj's life. Although primarily a landscape artist, he also painted a few portraits and still lifes. His career ended around 1933 due to advanced disease, and from then on he painted very little. Over the last ten years of his life he was mostly a wheelchair user and died almost forgotten by the public in 1962. However, Varlaj was an extremely valuable, persistent and meticulous painter who was completely dedicated to his work. His paintings represent some of the most beautiful images that are now part of the history of Croatian landscape painting. A retrospective of his work was held in 1992 at the

Art Pavilion 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 ...

in Zagreb In 2000, Croatian Postal Service issued a stamp with Varlaj's "Korčula", 1926, as part of their Croatian Visual Arts series.

Exhibitions

During his lifetime, held many solo exhibitions as well as participating in the Zagreb Spring Salon with the Group of Four, and with the Group of Independent Artists.

Solo exhibitions

Recent exhibitions of his work include: * 1992-3 Vladimir Varlaj retrospektiva,

Zagreb

Public collections

Vladimir Varlaj's work can be found in the following public collections Croatia * Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb * Modern Gallery, Zagreb

References

Bibliography

* ''Enciklopedija hrvatskih umjetnika'' (gl. ur. Žarko Domljan)

Miroslav Krleža Lexicographical Institute Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

, Zagreb 1996. * Monograph: Slikarstvo Vladimira Varlaja (Paintings of Vladimir Varlaj), author: Frano Dulibić, Zagreb 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Varlaj, Vladimir 1895 births 1962 deaths Croatian landscape painters 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters 20th-century Croatian male artists