Ivan Meštrović
(1883 – 1962)
Portrait of Karmen Matić, 1914
bronze
54.5 x 35 x 30.5 cm
MG-6505

Ivan Meštrović is the most prominent Croatian sculptor of the first half of the 20th century who has, during his lifetime, achieved worldwide fame and acclaim. He studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1901 to 1905, and during his formative years he was influenced by the prevailing atmosphere of the Vienna Secession, having himself become its typical representative in the medium of sculpture. Between 1923 and 1942, he served as the rector of Zagreb’s Academy of Fine Arts. His artistic, professional and public work exerted significant influence on his coevals, the younger generation of sculptors and the birth of Modernism in Croatia.
Since the beginning of his distinguished career, Meštrović had been recognised as a remarkable talent and master artist of a distinctive skill at shaping sculptural forms. Using his exceptional talent, he executed monumental, religious and intimate motifs of universal value.
Meštrović’s entire oeuvre is steeped in portrait sculptures and unique female characters featuring harmonious elegance and refined stylisation. Together with his wife Ruža Meštrović, he often portrayed his contemporaries and friends. Carmen de Spalatin was a woman of exceptional beauty and a close friend of Ruža Meštrović, who inspired her close friend Ivan Meštrović. The portrait bust of a young woman is modelled with her head slightly turned left and wrapped in a smooth scarf, which is tied at the back of the neck and highlights the curve of her head. Bangs and strands of her short hair peek out from under the scarf framing her serious face. The standout features are her physiognomic details, such as the eyebrows and drawn eyelids. The lips are pressed together and the chin is rounded. The volume is closed, and the surfaces are smooth and fluid, while in the profile view, the sides of the bust are cut flatly. The sculptor balances the decorative aspect of the style with the model’s character, without falling into the trap of excessive beautification and attractive visual representation.

Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb