Aurelije Lukežić
At the Shore, 1946
oil on canvas
36.5 × 42 cm
MG-1626

Aurelije Lukežić (?) remains an almost entirely unknown artist. Beyond the painting held in the NMMU collection, scant information survives regarding his life and work, other than his documented participation in several mid-century group exhibitions.
On the Shore was painted during the harsh post-war years. While the coastal motif has long occupied a prominent place in Croatian painting, celebrated for the exceptional beauty of the Adriatic landscape, Lukežić departs from this tradition. Rather than depicting an idyllic seascape, he presents a stark, deserted, and seemingly improvised harbour, evoking associations with military encampment or even a gulag embarkation point – a motif highly unusual for its time. For contemporary viewers, the work may be read as a sober visual reflection of the oppressive early period in which the Communist Party consolidated its authority over the state.

Text: Marta Radman, curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Marta Radman
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb