Marijan Trepše
Landscape with Bridge, 1919
watercolor on paper
31,9 x 37,9 cm (50 x 70 cm)
inv. br. MG-1098

Marijan Trepše (1897-1964) is one of the key artists in Croatian Expressionism and Modernism between two world wars. He got a degree in painting in Zagreb in 1918 and later on went to Prague where he created works under the influence of Expressionism, Cubism and Cézanne. He was one of the ‘Prague Four’ including Miliboj Uzelac, Vilko Gecan and Vladimir Varlaj with whom he exhibited at the Spring Salon that radically changed Croatian art. Trepše was also a famous set designer for the National Theatre in Zagreb.
“Landscape with Bridge” from 1919 depicts a bridge surrounded by buildings in the foreground. The Expressionist approach is visible in the depiction of the space and the rhythm of the composition. Using watercolor to define the space and light for the atmosphere, the painting is reduced to basic elements and wide brush strokes. The stylised treatment of volume indicates a high mastery in the medium of watercolors and the use of colors which are cold gray and green with beige details.

Text: Stella Baki, curator / museum educator at the National Museum of Modern Art Zagreb
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
📍 This artwork is currently on display as part of the exhibition Bridges of Promise, from the NMMU on Tour series, at Gradska galerija Striegl