The exhibition Blue – The Favourite Colour, featuring around twenty selected pieces from the National Museum of Modern Art’s collection, will be on view from 24 October to 15 December at the Šibenik City Museum. Part of the NMMA On Tour series, this exhibition is presented in partnership with museums and galleries across Croatia, offering the public a glimpse into the Museum’s collection while its main building, the Vranyczany-Dobrinović Palace, undergoes a full renovation. The exhibition is curated by Dajana Vlaisavljević, NMMA museum consultant, who aims to explore various artistic interpretations of the colour blue through these works.
Blue is the colour of the sky, the night, the sea... and these natural associations impart it with a sense of infinity, thus introspection. It is also the most frequently used colour for military and other official uniforms, a tradition that stems from royal ceremonial dress. The museum painting Portrait of Dr. Ivo Malina by Vlaho Bukovac from 1899 is a fine example of this practice.
The colour blue has a long and contradictory history. As the visual fact par excellence, it has been attributed various symbolic meanings, some of which have persisted in the modern human consciousness and the subconscious. Thus, interpreting artworks must take into account socio-anthropological factors, which are deeply woven into human perception. However, the perceptions of blue have shifted throughout history – ancient man conceptualised it quite differently from those in the medieval era or the Romantic period. It is interesting to observe that blue was previously deemed a warm colour, and the ancient Greeks, for instance, regarded it as unattractive. The ascent of blue started in the Middle Ages, becoming associated with the Virgin Mary, who was typically depicted wrapped in a blue cloak symbolising celestial purity. In this regard, blue has traditionally been viewed as a “feminine” colour, while red has been perceived as “masculine,” representing the blood spilt during military campaigns. The National Museum of Modern Art’s collection includes several works (e.g., by Nicola Consoni) that still reflect this iconographic moment. In terms of melancholic emotion, blue experienced its peak popularity during the Romantic era, and this sentiment has persisted into modern times. In visual arts, blue is most commonly associated with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc (Der Blaue Reiter), who were fascinated by the colour, as well as with Yves Klein’s distinctive use of blue.
Drawing on the history of European painting, this project examines the role of blue in Croatian visual art from the 19th century to present day. It explores whether artists consciously incorporate its symbolic meanings or merely use it as a visual feature, as well as which artists tend to employ it for symbolic purposes versus those who are simply fascinated by its chromatic attributes.
Artists: Anton (Toni) Aron (1859–1920), Ljubo Babić (1890-1974), Menci Clement Crnčić (1865-1930), Josip Diminić (1937-2019), Oton Iveković (1869-1939), Ignjat Job (1895-1936), Vjekoslav Karas (1821-1858), Ljubo de Karina (1948), Zlatko Keser (1942), Miroslav Kraljević (1885.-1913), Zvonimir Lončarić (1927.-2004), Nikola Mašić (1852 – 1902), Albert Mosè (1835-1903), Marijana Muljević (1948.), Josip Račić (1885 - 1908), Ivo Režek (1898-1979), Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947), Rudolf Sablić (1916-2012), Marino Tartaglia (1894-1984), Milivoj Uzelac (1897-1977), Emanuel Vidović (1870-1953)
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Images: Miroslav Kraljević (1885-1913): Getting Dressed (Woman in Blue Stockings), 1912 / oil on canvas, 62.2x50.3cm / MG-773
62,2x50,3cm / MG-773
Emanuel Vidović (1870 – 1953): From the Lagoon, c. 1909 / oil on canvas, 63x95cm / MG-6715
Josip Račić (1885 – 1908): In Front of the Mirror, 1908 / oil on canvas, 100x58.3cm / MG-2391
(cover photo)
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb