Joza Turkalj
(1890 – 1943)
Female Nude (Dancer), 1920
Casting, bronze
45 x 11 x 9.5 cm
MG-1968

Joza Turkalj is a Croatian sculptor known for his distinguished medallic work. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (1910–1914), where he studied under R. Valdec and R. Frangeš-Mihanović, and later continued his artistic development in Vienna (1920–1922).
He was the author of numerous tombstones and public monuments, most notably those at the Mirogoj Cemetery and Maksimir Park-Forest in Zagreb. His portraits are characterized by pure modeling and simplified facial contours, as seen in Head of a Daughter and Child’s Head (1935), as well as the succinctly conceived Self-Portrait (1938). His sports plaques and medals realistically and meticulously capture the characteristic dynamism of the human body, employing contrasts of light and shadow, particularly evident in the HAŠ.K. Award Plaque from 1934.
Like other sculptors of the Spring Salon (1916–1928), Turkalj frequently depicted the female figure. In his earlier period, he created statuettes of young women with a poetic reduction of form (Dancer, 1920, Female Nude Untying Her Hair, 1925), while his later works reflect the abundant female forms in the spirit of 1930s realism, based on model and movement, as seen in Female Torso (1938).
Dancer portrays an idealized nude of a slender young woman with arabesque lines, exuding grace and lyrical fluidity of movement. She is depicted in a standing pose, frozen in a moment of dance- her legs are on tiptoe, slightly bent at the knees, and fixed on a thin bronze base. Her left arm is raised above her head, while her right arm is bent at the elbow with the palm facing outward. The face is finely modeled, and the entire figure is rendered with smooth surfaces and rounded, enclosed volumes. The harmonious contour line further accentuates the beauty of the form. The particularly striking interplay of light and shadow across the sculpture’s fluid surfaces enhances its dynamism and expressiveness.

Text: Tatijana Gareljić, Museum Advisor, National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb