Ksenija Kantoci
Head of a Woman (Portrait of Aja Kantoci?), c. 1953
bronze
41 × 16 × 16 cm
MG-7141

Ksenija Kantoci (1909–1995) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1937 as its first female sculptor, and continued her studies in France, Italy and Germany. Her work is distinguished by a consistent reduction of form and a concentration on the essential structural and psychological qualities of the figure. She developed a distinctive sculptural idiom based on compact volumes and restrained modelling. Rather than accentuating anatomical detail, she condensed physiognomic features into cohesive forms, achieving a balance between naturalism and abstraction. Alongside portraiture, she created female figures and animal motifs in bronze, stone and wood.
This portrait intensifies the reduction visible in Kantoci’s earlier work. The head is structured as a closed, almost spherical mass, with facial features compressed into the surface rather than projected outward. The volume appears self-contained, firmly anchored to its base by the neck. Eyes and mouth are rendered minimally, yet effectively convey identity and presence. Kantoci approaches a near-archetypal representation, where individuality is distilled into structural clarity. The portrait exemplifies her ability to balance psychological depth with formal economy.

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