Ante Orlić
(1933 – 2004)
Amazon Woman, 1964
bronze
167 x 43 x 59 cm
MG-8145
In 1958, Ante Orlić obtained a degree in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, in the class of Frano Kršinić, and then continued his training in Vanja Radauš’s Master Workshop (1960 - 1964). In 1961, he became a member of the Croatian Fine Artists’ Association, and has worked as a freelance artist throughout his entire career. He has been staging solo exhibitions since 1966 and has participated in a number of group exhibitions at home and abroad.
He prefers to work in bronze as a dominant sculptural material. He creates portraits of intimist and representational character, in his own distinct style featuring voluminous abstract forms with realistic accents, which is also visible in his medal-making oeuvre. Religious works exhibiting a refined traditional lexicon make up a large part of Orlić’s sculptural work. In works in public spaces, however, he often reaches for geometric stylisation while respecting urban planning. His gestural drawing and painting oeuvre accompanies his sculptural challenges.
Orlić was preoccupied with the motif of the stylised female figures, executed as spatial constructions in unrevealed poses and gestures of physical and spiritual relaxation. The figure of the Amazon Woman is standing on a rectangular base with rounded corners, her legs are spread with feet facing forward and the upper part of the body is turned to the left. Her physiognomy is rendered with the basic accents of the eyes, nose and lips, while the ellipse of the head is accentuated by the hair pulled back to the nape of the neck. The torso is composed of just the left severed upper arm and a right protruding breast. An elongated deformed standing nude with rudimentary attributions suggestively depicts the mutilated stoic female warrior, both vulnerable and strong at the same time.
Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb