Frano Kršinić (24 July 1897 – 1 January 1982) was a Croatian sculptor active in former
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. Along with
Ivan Meštrović
Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...
and
Antun Augustinčić, he is considered one of the three most important
Croatian sculptors
Croatian may refer to:
*Croatia
*Croatian language
*Croatian people
*Croatians (demonym)
See also
*
*
* Croatan (disambiguation)
* Croatia (disambiguation)
* Croatoan (disambiguation)
* Hrvatski (disambiguation)
* Hrvatsko (disambiguation)
* Se ...
of the 20th century. His most widely known work is the statue of
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla (;["Tesla"](_blank)
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
installed at the
Niagara Falls State Park,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, an identical copy of the monument residing in front of the building of the
School of Electrical Engineering,
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia.
Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...
(
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
).
Biography
Kršinić was born in 1897 in the village of
Lumbarda on the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
island of
Korčula
Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...
in south
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, which was at the time part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
. He was born into a family with a long tradition of
stonemasonry
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using rock (geology), stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with Mortar (masonry), mortar ...
, and he was also trained at the local stonemasonry school before going on to attend the stone-working and masonry school in
Hořice (in present-day
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
) in 1912. Upon graduation in 1916 he enrolled at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he studied in the classes of renowned Czech sculptors
Josef Václav Myslbek and
Jan Štursa and graduated in 1920. He then returned to Croatia and settled 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, where he worked as a freelance sculptor before becoming a teacher of sculpting at the
Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb in 1924.
By the late 1920s his individual expression was formed, away from the mainstream of
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
and the overwhelming influence of
Ivan Meštrović
Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...
. In this period his style and sculptural elegance took shape through a number of works defined by soft lines in closed forms such as ''Awakening'', ''Diana'', ''Young Woman Tending a Rose'', ''Reading'', ''After the Bath'' and others.
In the following decades Kršinić devoted himself to works marked by finer chiseling in marble, mostly of female art nudes and motherly motifs, such as sculptures titled ''Meditation'', ''Mother Feeding a Child'', etc. In 1947 he was made master sculptor and head of the sculpting workshop at the
Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1948 he became a member of the
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia.
HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...
. In his last decades Krsinic created numerous small format sculptures which varied the theme of the young girl, as well as art nudes. Works such as ''Worry'', ''Sunbathing'' and ''Resting'' are said to represent perfection in the softness of sculpting in marble. He retired from teaching in 1967 and in 1975 he stopped sculpting.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Frano Kršinić short biographyat
Tate.org.ukFrano Kršinić biography at Korcula.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krsinic, Frano
20th-century Croatian sculptors
1897 births
1982 deaths
People from Lumbarda
People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia
Croatian sculptors
Vladimir Nazor Award winners
Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
20th-century Croatian artists
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague alumni
Academic staff of the University of Zagreb
Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery
20th-century sculptors