Marta Ehrlich
Early Morning on the Path by the Sea, 1978
oil on canvas
65 × 85.3 cm
MG-4601

Marta Ehrlich (Zagreb, 1910 – 1980) was a prominent Croatian painter of the 20th century. She graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1934, having studied privately under Vladimir Becić, and spent the following year in Paris on a study visit. In the early phase of her career, she drew on Becić’s painterly influence, but in later years gravitated towards a surrealist poetics. Her work most often depicted cityscapes, landscapes, interiors, and still lifes, through which she developed an intimate and imaginative artistic expression.
During the 1960s, Ehrlich increasingly turned to ceramics, producing small-scale sculptures, painted tiles, and plates, while in her painting she embraced an abstract mode in the style of art informel.
The painting Early Morning on the Path by the Sea encapsulates the oeuvre of this Zagreb-born artist, who, during the 1970s, moved closer to abstract forms and pure, simplified planes rendered predominantly in shades of blue. The composition is dominated by blue tones that suggest a landscape motif with a marine horizon, while red and yellow surfaces introduce a powerful chromatic contrast. Fragmented planes are separated by thick applications of paint, creating a dynamic rhythm. Through free and almost gestural brushstrokes, the artist sought to interpret emotion and atmosphere, aligning herself with the aesthetics of lyrical abstraction. The work thus becomes a reflection of the artist’s inner, spiritual landscape.

Text: Luciana Fuks, Curatorial Assistant, National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb