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Vlaho Bukovac (french: Blaise Bukovac; it, Biagio Faggioni; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian
painter 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 ai ...
and
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
. His life and work were
eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed greatly over the course of that career. He is probably best known for his 1887
nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
'' Une fleur'' (''A Flower''), which he created during his French period and which received attention in various reviews and publications during his lifetime. Bukovac was the court painter for
Obrenović dynasty The House of Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Обрeновић, Obrenovići / Обреновићи, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Mi ...
, Karađorđević dynasty and
Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: , / ) is the Serbian family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1916. Montenegro was ruled from its inception by ''vladikas'' ( prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role. In 169 ...
. In Zagreb, he is probably best known as the painter of the 1895 theatre curtain in the Croatian National Theatre.


Biography

Bukovac was born Biagio Faggioni in the town of Cavtat south of
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 Mediterranea ...
in Dalmatia. While his mother was of Croatian descent, his paternal grandfather was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
sailor from the Genoa area who experienced a shipwreck near Cavtat. Like that he met a local girl Ana Kličan, Bukovac's grandmother, with whom he married and settled in Cavtat. When he was eleven, he left with his uncle Frano for
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
, where he stayed for four years before returning to his parents. Soon after, he found employment as a sailor, traveling on the Istanbul- Liverpool-
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
route, however, his nautical career was soon cut short due to injuries sustained during a fall on the ship. While recovering at home, he began to paint. In 1873 he and his brother Jozo left for Peru, where he lived for a year selling his paintings before moving to California in 1874. In San Francisco, he began an amateur career in painting, and received his first lessons in art from Domenico Tojetti. He painted many portraits, including multiple for the family of wealthy businessman William Dunphy, owner of the Rancho Posa de los Ositos. In 1877, Faggioni returned to Europe to study painting, and in this time began using the surname Bukovac, a translation of the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
word ''faggio'' meaning
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
. He received his artistic education in Paris where he was financially supported by patrons Josip Juraj Strossmayer and
Medo Pucić Orsat "Medo" Pucić, ( it, Orsatto Pozza, ; 12 March 1821 – 30 June 1882) was a Ragusan writer and an important member of the Catholic Serb movement. Biography Orsat Pucić was born on in Dubrovnik, then in the Austrian Empire. He was desce ...
. He became a
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris studying under the famed French artist
Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. According to ''Diccionario Enciclopedi ...
. Dubrovnik-based Serb trader Petar Marić also assisted him financially, and Bukovac later painted a portrait of him and his family. In 1892 he married Jelica Pitarević from
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 Mediterranea ...
. They had one son and three daughters. He would become a correspondent member of the
Czech Academy of Sciences The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, cs, Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes ba ...
, an honorary member of
Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...
(JAZU)Bukovac, Vlaho
Enciklopedija.hr
and also a member of
Serbian Royal Academy The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
. He died in Prague where he studied and taught art.


Early career

Bukovac began his career in France. He painted in a "sugary" realistic style, his fashionable paintings achieved great success at the Paris Salon. During his time in France, he often traveled to England and the Dalmatian coast, where he was born. From the mid-1880s to World War I, regularly visited England, where many of his pictures were sold by the London art dealers Vicars Brothers, including ''The White Slave'' in 1884. During his time in England, Bukovac gained the patronage of
Samson Fox Samson Fox (11 July 1838 – 24 October 1903) was an English engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. He was elected Mayor of Harrogate in Yorkshire and the building of the Royal College of Music in London was funded largely by Fox. Life a ...
of Harrogate and Richard LeDoux of Liverpool, whose support would elevate him in British society and in the art scene. Samson Fox had bought ''Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me'', exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1888, which was later presented to St. Robert's Church in Harrogate.


Courts of Serbia, Montenegro

Bukovac was the court painter for
Obrenović dynasty The House of Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Обрeновић, Obrenovići / Обреновићи, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Mi ...
and Karađorđević dynasty. For his portrait of
Natalie of Serbia Natalija Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Наталија Обреновић; 15 May 1859 – 8 May 1941), née Keshko ( ro, Natalia Cheșcu; russian: Наталья Кешко), known as Natalie of Serbia, was the Princess of Serbia from 1875 to 1882 and ...
he was awarded
Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...
. He was also awarded
Order of St. Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...
. Bukovac visited Kingdom of Montenegro several times and painted member of the
Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: , / ) is the Serbian family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1916. Montenegro was ruled from its inception by ''vladikas'' ( prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role. In 169 ...
and other members of the elite. He was awarded
Order of Prince Danilo I The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an Order (decoration), order of the Principality of Montenegro, Principality and later Kingdom of Montenegro, Kingdom, of Montenegro. It ...
for his work. Some of his painting are a part of the collection of Museum of Fine Arts of Montenegro.


Croatia and Prague

Bukovac became a significant representative of fine arts in Zagreb, Croatia from 1893–97, bringing with him the spirit of French art. These new directives are most evident in his landscapes. He then began using a palette of lively and lighter colors using liberated strokes, soft rendering and the introduction of light on the painting
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags, ...
. Several examples of his work are in the Golden Hall of the
Hermann Bollé Hermann Bollé (18 September 1845 – 17 April 1926) was an Austro-Hungarian architect of Franco-German origin who practiced in Croatia (Zagreb and Slavonia), as well as parts of what is now Vojvodina in northern Serbia. Life He was born ...
-built palace on Opatička Street (today the Croatian Institute of History), where Izidor Kršnjavi commissioned Croatian artists to paint historical scenes and allegorical compositions in high relief. In 1895, Bukovac completed one of his best known works, the theatre curtain in the Croatian National Theatre, ''The Reformation of Croatian Literature and Art''. In his time in Zagreb, he became a leader at many important cultural and artistic events. In December 1893, Bukovac and Izidor Kršnjavi opened an exhibition titled "Croatian Salon" (''Hrvatski salon''), displaying the works of many of the top Croatian artists of the time. A few years later, Bukovac had his residence and
atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...
built on King Tomislav Square, and in 1895 he founded and became the first president of the "Croatian Society of Artists" ( hr, Društvo hrvatskih umjetnika). The organization's statute only allowed Croats who had successfully presented their collections at three different art exhibitions. Therefore the original members were well known artists:
Oskar Alexander Oskar Artur Alexander (February 20, 1876 – April 16, 1953) was a Croatian academic painter and professor. Background and family Alexander was born in Zagreb to a prominent Jewish family Alexander family, Alexander. His father, Ljudevit Alex ...
, Robert Auer, Ivo Bauer,
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 ...
, Bela Čikoš, Robert Frangeš, Ferdo Kovačević, Viktor Kovačić, and Rudolf Valdec. As president of the Croatian Society of Artists, he was among those who formerly opened the beautiful new Art Pavilion in Zagreb in December 1898. He gave a speech thanking the city council for building the pavilion on behalf of Croatian artists. During this time, he felt satisfaction and enthusiasm in Zagreb that he had not felt in a while. He dedicated much time and energy to his new students, one of which was noted Croatian painter Mirko Rački. However, due to controversy over the opening of the Croatian Salon, he withdrew to his native Cavtat where he stayed from 1898 to 1902. In 1903 he moved to Prague, where he was appointed associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He introduced
pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism ...
to the Prague Academy, and earned his historical reputation as an excellent pedagogue. In 1908 he was elected president of the Association of Croatian Artists "Medulić" in
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...
. From 1912-13, Bukovac painted "Development of Croatian Culture" (''Razvitak Hrvatske Kulture'') for the main reading room in the
Croatian State Archives The Croatian State Archives ( hr, Hrvatski državni arhiv) are the national archives of Croatia located in its capital, Zagreb. The history of the state archives can be traced back to the 17th century. There are also regional state archives loca ...
. In 1918, he published his autobiography "My Life" (''Moj život'') in Zagreb.


Legacy

Besides being an artist who followed the established canons dictated by the salon and the general public, he followed his own inner impulses of artistic creation. Liberated artistic expression, which was called Impressionism, developed in the spirit of the artists who kept gathering in modernism-oriented marginal galleries in Paris in the 1870s. He knew the spirit of academia and, on the other hand, he felt the spirit of Impressionistic freedom. Having accepted modern principles, Bukovac painted casual pictures, using liberated strokes of the brush, in the pointillist technique. His childhood home in Cavtat was made a museum called the Bukovac House, and is part of the Museums and Galleries of Konavle. The museum holds a wide collection of Bukovac’s works, from portraits and paintings during his days in Paris, Zagreb, Cavtat, and Prague. In addition to artwork, the museum contains many of Bukovac's personal objects, sketches, private letters, photographs, and a manuscript of his autobiography "My life" published in 1918. Also, Bukovac's work can be found in the collection of
Milan Jovanović Stojimirović Milan Jovanović Stojimirović (Smederevo, Kingdom of Serbia, 19 June 1898 – Belgrad, Serbia, Yugoslavia, 6 March 1966) was a Serbian journalist, diplomat, manager of the Archive of Serbia, and chronicler of Old Belgrade. His vast collection o ...
who bequeathed a large number of paintings, sketches and artifacts to the Art Department of the Museum in
Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...
. In 2006, Bukovac's painting '' Une fleur'' (identified as ''Reclining Nude'' by the auction house) sold at
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought tog ...
in London for £100,800.


Gallery

File:Vlaho Bukovac - Mrs Richard Le Doux - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Mrs Richard Le Doux'' File:Guslar_v.jpg, ''Minstrel'' File:Gundulićev san.jpg, '' Gundulić's Dream'' (1894) File:Vb dub u sumi.jpg, ''Deep in the Forest'' File:Vb isus prijatelj malenih.jpg, ''Jesus, Friend of the Children'' File:Vb jesenji pejsaz.jpg, ''Autumn Landscape'' File:Vb sanak.jpg, ''A Little Dream'' File:Živio kralj Vlaho Bukovac.JPG, ''Long Live the King!'' File:Crnogorka v.jpg, ''Montenegran Woman'' File:AleksandarI-Karadjordjevic.jpg,
Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yu ...
File:PortraitBishopMarkoKalogjera.png, ''Portrait of Marko Kalogjera'' (1880)Vera Kružić Uchytil, ''Vlaho Bukovac : Život i djelo (1855-1920)'', Nakladni zavod Globus, Zagreb, 2005, pp. 44-48, 340–341, 345–346. File:Pero Čingrija.png, Portrait of mayor Pero Čingrija File:Vlaho Bukovac - Janko Drašković.jpg, Portrait of Janko Drašković, 1908 File:Velika Iza - Vlaho Bukovac, Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection.jpg, ''Velika Iza'',
Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection ( sr, Спомен-збирка Павла Бељанског, ''Spomen-zbirka Pavla Beljanskog'') is a public art museum in Novi Sad, Serbia. It displays paintings and sculptures by 20th century Serbian ...
File:Vlaho Bukovac - Art of imperishable beauty exhibition, SANU Gallery, 2020 2.jpg, Exhibition "Vlaho Bukovac - painting of imperishable beauty" in the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2020


References


Further reading

* Bukovac, Vlaho. ''Moj Život.'' Zagreb: Književni Jug (1918) * Kružić-Uchytil, Vera. ''Vlaho Bukovac: Život i Djelo.'' Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska, 1968. Expanded second edition: Zagreb: Nakladni Zavod Globus (2005) * Kružić-Uchytil, Vera. "Prvi nastupi hrvatskih umjetnika na međunarodnoj umjetničkoj sceni od 1896 do 1903 godine." ''Peristil'' 31 (1998): 193-98 * Zidić, Igor. ''Vlaho Bukovac.'' Zagreb: Moderna Galerija (2000) * Kapičić, Anđe. ''Bukovac i Crna Gora.'' Cetinje: Matica Crnogorska (2002) * Rossner, Rachel. "The secessionists are the Croats. They've been given their own pavilion…" Vlaho Bukovac's Battle for Croatian Autonomy at the 1896 Millennial Exhibition in Budapest', Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide vol. 6, no.1 (2007)


External links


Research project on Vlaho Bukovac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bukovac, Vlaho 1855 births 1922 deaths People from Konavle Croatian people of Italian descent 19th-century Croatian painters 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters Post-impressionist painters École des Beaux-Arts alumni Academy of Fine Arts, Prague faculty Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo 19th-century Croatian male artists 20th-century Croatian male artists