Marta Ehrlich
Maestral, 1970
oil on canvas
60.4 × 77.4 cm
MG-4785

Marta Ehrlich (Zagreb, 1910–1980) was one of the leading Croatian painters of the 20th century. She graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1934 as a private student of Vladimir Becić, and spent the following year on a study visit to Paris. In the early phase of her career, her work reflected Becić's influence, while in later years she developed a more Surrealist approach. She most frequently painted cityscapes, landscapes, interiors, and still lifes, cultivating an intimate and imaginative artistic expression. During the 1960s, she increasingly devoted herself to ceramics, producing small-scale sculptures, painted tiles, and decorative plates, while in painting she embraced a more abstract language influenced by Art Informel.
Painted in 1970, “Maestral” belongs to the artist's late creative period, when she moved towards a simplified and almost abstract visual language. The composition is constructed from stylised forms that merely suggest a landscape, while sailboats, the open sea, and steep coastal cliffs remain recognisable through reduced shapes and strong colour relationships. Blue and green tones dominate the composition, contrasted by warm red and orange areas in the foreground. Through free brushstrokes and broad applications of paint, Ehrlich creates a dynamic yet harmonious composition in which colour becomes the primary means of expression. The title refers to the maestral, a characteristic Mediterranean wind whose freshness and movement are evoked through the rhythm of forms and the painting's airy atmosphere.

Text: Luciana Fuks, Museum Documentation Curator, National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb