
Josip Crnobori
Portrait of Marta Ehrlich (Marta Ehrlich at the Easel), 1938
oil on canvas
133.3 x 108.5 cm
National Museum of Modern Art, MG-1518
Josip Anton (Ivanov) Crnobori (Banjole near Pula, 1907 – Zagreb, 2005) was a renowned 20th-century Croatian painter. Following his graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, he actively participated in numerous exhibitions, making a lasting impression on the Zagreb art scene during the 1940s. In addition to his solo exhibitions in Zagreb, he also displayed his work in Vienna and Bratislava. In 1946, he moved to Italy, where he continued his artistic pursuits. A pivotal moment in his life came in the mid-20th century when he emigrated to Argentina to join his parents. This move to South America prevented his work from being closely aligned with the prevailing artistic movements of post-war Croatian painting.
From the 1980s, Crnobori lived and worked in New York until his return to Croatia in 1999. To celebrate his homecoming, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb hosted an exhibition titled “The Painter’s Return.” He passed away in Zagreb in 2005. Although he spent much of his life away from the Croatian art scene, his work reflects the influence of his professor, Marino Tartaglia (Zagreb, 1894–1984), and Milivoj Uzelac (Mostar, 1897 – Cotignac, France, 1977), both of whom blended traditional academic styles with modernist trends. Like many of his contemporaries, Crnobori frequently painted portraits of prominent Zagreb citizens as well as people from his close circle of friends and acquaintances.
One example of such work is the painting “Portrait of Marta Ehrlich,” exhibited at the “Half a Century of Croatian Art” event at the Meštrović Pavilion in 1938. It depicts the artist Marta Ehrlich (Zagreb, 1910–1980) immersed in the act of painting. The composition’s dynamism comes from the artist’s pose – she is primarily turned toward the canvas but slightly angled toward the viewer, creating a sense of shared participation in her creative process. The painting is characterised by a rich, dark colour palette dominated by shades of brown, green, and black, with delicate highlights accentuating her face and hands. The background is understated, rendered in earthy tones, which serves to emphasise the figure of the artist and her work.
In addition to his many portraits, Crnobori’s work also encompasses landscapes depicting scenes from Dalmatia and the Zagreb region, as well as still lifes of outstanding artistic merit. Throughout his career, he remained dedicated to realism and the traditional principles of academic painting, further emphasising his devotion to classical artistic ideals.
Text: Luciana Fuks, trainee curator at 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