Nikola Mašić
Boat, 1880
oil on canvas
34 × 55.5 cm
MG-181

Following his studies at the Munich Academy, where in 1877 he encountered the Primamalerei painting style in Wilhelm von Lindenschmit’s class, the oeuvre of Nikola Mašić (1852–1902) can be divided into three phases.
The first phase corresponds to his time in Paris. The year of his first visit to Paris is cited variously as 1877, 1878 (most commonly), and 1879. Previous literature and periodicals mostly list the Académie Julian and the studio of Adolphe William Bouguereau as key places of Mašić’s artistic education. However, this is disputed by Kršnjavi and Babić. Nonetheless, both authors acknowledge that Bouguereau "reviewed Mašić’s sketches and studies," even though Mašić was not officially enrolled in his school. Regardless, Mašić’s Parisian stay is closely linked to the growing influence of the painterly legacy of the then-deceased Mariano José María Fortuny y Marsal on his work.

The second phase, described as the Posavina and Italian intermezzo, spans from autumn 1878 to autumn 1880. Although Mašić had been visiting and sketching in the Posavina region as early as 1876, this period is defined by his plein air studies, dated and created during that time.
The third phase begins with his return from Italy in 1880 and continues with his permanent settlement in Zagreb a few years later, where in 1884 he was appointed a teacher at the School of Crafts. He remained there—with short interruptions—until the end of his life, serving as the director of the Strossmayer Gallery from 1894 onwards.

This horizontally formatted, minimalist study in greyish tones features a skillfully painted boat placed in the center-right portion of the scene, floating on a bluish, mirror-like water surface. The boat is rendered in shades of grey and white, with hints of red and green. Mašić’s study should be interpreted through the lens of academic tradition, in which travel to Italy with plein air sketching formed an essential part of a 19th-century painter’s education. This tradition flourished under the umbrella of the so-called “international school” in Italy, epitomized by the landscape painting of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796–1875).

When viewed in conjunction with the various 19th-century Italian art schools—which themselves evolved through a dynamic interplay between local tradition and the influence of the “international school” on Italian soil—this context becomes key to understanding the largely Italian-themed small-format landscapes, vedutas, and genre studies of Quiquerez, Kršnjavi, and Mašić. Today, these works are recognized as echoing the early impulses of modernism.

Text: Ivana Rončević Elezović, Phd Museum Advisor at the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb