Ivo Dulčić
Venice, c. 1960
tempera on paper
35 × 45.5 cm
MG-2335

Ivo Dulčić (1916–1975) was a Croatian painter who spent most of his life between Zagreb and Dubrovnik. With his distinctive, virtuoso approach to abstracted colouristic expressionism infused with the poetics of intimism, he stands as one of the emblematic representatives of mid-20th-century Dubrovnik painting.
Dulčić’s Venice, featuring a vibrant array of figures on gondolas gliding through the Venetian canal beneath bridges and palazzi, almost evokes the impression of a stained-glass window, elevating an everyday scene to a ceremonious one. Although typically known as a pronounced colourist, here he restrains his palette, allowing only occasional flashes of colour within the bustling scene on the water—subtle hints of his artistic signature—and, in doing so, offers a kind of homage to Vidović’s tradition of depicting this mythical city.

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