Velibor Mačukatin
(1919 – 2010)
Combing, 1941
bronze, 29.5 x 19 x 14 cm
MG-2225
A sculptor and medallist, Velibor Mačukatin obtained a degree in sculpture in 1946 in the class of F. Kršinić. He took a special course with A. Augustinčić and was his collaborator in the execution of monumental public sculptures.
He designed monuments with partisan themes, a pronounced heroic gesture, but also public monuments featuring stylised shapes and smooth surfaces. As a skilled portraitist, he produced numerous bronze reliefs and busts for public institutions, as well as tombstones. Medals with realistic portraits (Portrait of Marina Baričević, 1993) stand out in his notable medallist oeuvre. He also created medal works featuring original compositions dedicated to various events and anniversaries (Congress of Women in Paris, 1945).
His permanent preoccupation was the female nude, and he created a notable body of small-scale works, in classical poses, stylised, or in turn, female nudes with pronounced eroticism, interpreted more freely in numerous erotic drawings and coloured collages.
A nude girl in a relaxed seated pose, in suspended motion, is shown in an intimate moment of combing her hair. The vigour and strength of the physicality were achieved by forming summary rounded volumes with a solid form and an emphasised contour line.
Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, 2023
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb, 2023