Tag: Marino Tartaglia

Marino Tartaglia, Triptych (Self-Portraits), I-III, 1964

Marino Tartaglia
(1894 – 1984)
Triptych (Self-Portraits), I-III, 1964
oil on wood and canvas
107 x 200 cm
MG-2433

Marino Tartaglia (1894 – 1984) is a universal painter of historical and high Modern art. His painting is a synthesis of different influences and styles, ranging from El Greco and Tintoretto, Primitivism, Cézannism, Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Neoclassicism, Colourism, and Lyrical and Reductive Abstraction. Tartaglia’s references are often illegible, and his painting is based on the rationalisation of painting procedures. With them, he reconciles the laws of plastic order and the emotional approach to painting (T. Maroević). Tartaglian sfumato is correlated with E. Vidović. In the Marginalia, he reconciles the contradictions with the postulate: “The painting must reconcile all contradictions; and be a timeless archaeological find in its own time.”
In 1912, he began his studies in Florence (Giacometti) and then continued his education at the Instituto Superiore di Belle Arti in Rome; he was friends with the representatives of Futurism gathered around the magazine Lacerba. He was the only foreigner to have exhibited his work at the 1918 Exhibition of Independent Artists in Rome, together with the prominent Italian Avant-Gardists (C. Carà, G. De Chirico, E. Prampolini, A. Soffici). After the end of World War I (1918 – 1921), he lived in Split, Vienna, Belgrade and France. In 1947 he became a full professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and in 1948 a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Triptych (Self-Portraits) I-III evoke the glowing self-portrait from 1917, then the one with the pipe (1921), while the third evokes the laurels of the third epoch. He was the recipient of the Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Award (1964), and retrospective exhibitions of his work were staged at the Art Pavilion in Zagreb in 1975 and at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in 2003-2004.

Text: Željko Marciuš museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Marino Tartaglia, Still Life with a Statue II, 1921

Marino Tartaglia
Still Life with a Statue II, 1921
oil on canvas
47.8 x 66.2 cm
MG-1116

The work Still Life with a Statue II points to artistic models and tendencies that Tartaglia skilfully combines in a personal version of the still life genre. The colour palette is dark, reduced to ashen and earth tones that are complemented with refined shading (cit. T. Maroević). Indications of warm colours are visible only in the depiction of fruit on the table and the bowl. The scene is set in the manner of Cézanne’s still lifes in which solid objects are placed in “floating compositions”, while the choice of colours is the result of the post-war expressionist painting and the mindset of devastated Europe.
Born in Zagreb in a family of sailors from Split, Marino Tartaglia (1894-1984) is an artist whose oeuvre can hardly be categorised by one style. Having lived to be ninety-years-old, his style has developed, expanded and was supplemented with different stylistic tendencies. Tartaglia’s oeuvre is a synthesis of different artistic styles ranging from El Greco and Tintoretto, Primitivism, Cézannism, Cubism, Futurism all the way to Neoclassicism, Colourism and Lyrical and Reductive Abstraction. In 1912, he began his studies in Florence and in Rome at the Instituto Superiore di Belle Arti. During his studies he came into contact with representatives of Futurism. He was the only foreign artist to have exhibited his work at the 1918 Exhibition of Independent Artists in Rome together with Italian Avant-Gardists (C. Carà, G. De Chirico, E. Prampolini). After the end of World Wat I, he lived in Split, Vienna, Belgrade and France. In 1931, he became a full professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and in 1947 a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Text: Zlatko Tot, curator intern ©National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić ©National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Marino Tartaglia, Interior (with Totica),1930

Marino Tartaglia
Interior (with Totica),1930
oil on canvas, 81.2 x 100 cm
MG-1115

The painting Interior (with Totica) is an example of Tartaglia’s masterful colourism. The meticulous approach to the sophistication of red shades that range from the red wall, Totica’s hair, through the darker blanket, even darker floor, all the way to the brown-reddish skirt are sufficient indicators that the focus is placed on the superposition of shades. The central part of the scene is framed with cold tones of the window and greenish and blue curtains. In addition, two large-scale “oils on canvas” are hung on the wall of the interior, the presence of which adds a note of realism and a variety of colour shades in general. The seated female figure placed in the centre of the scene is presented as a doll, that is, as a wooden painting aid for learning anatomy, verging on lifelessness. Only its size contributes to the impression that it is actually a real person.
Born in Zagreb in a family of sailors from Split, Marino Tartaglia (1894-1984) is an artist whose oeuvre can hardly be categorised by one style. Having lived to be ninety, his style has been developed, expanded and supplemented with different stylistic tendencies. Tartaglia’s oeuvre is a synthesis of different artistic styles ranging from El Greco and Tintoretto, Primitivism, Cézannism, Cubism, Futurism all the way to Neoclassicism, Colourism and Lyrical and Reductive Abstraction. After having finished primary school, he moved to Italy, where in 1912 he began his studies in Florence and in Rome at the Instituto Superiore di Belle Arti. During his studies he came into contact with representatives of Futurism. He was the only foreign artist to have exhibited his work in Rome in 1918 at the Exhibition of Independent Artists together with Italian Avant-Gardists (C. Carà, G. De Chirico, E. Prampolini). After the end of World Wat I, he lived in Split, Vienna, Belgrade and France. In 1947, he became a full professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and in the same year became a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. He exhibited his work at the first exhibition of the City Gallery of Contemporary Art in Zagreb in 1955. In 1964, he was the recipient of the “Vladimir Nazor” Lifetime Achievement Award.

Text: Zlatko Tot, curator intern © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Marino Tartaglia, A Self-Portrait/A Self-Portrait with a Pipe, 1920/1921

Marino Tartaglia (1894-1984)
A Self-Portrait/A Self-Portrait with a Pipe, 1920/1921
oil on canvas
44.6×32.5 cm
MG-3880

Marino Tartaglia’s A Self-Portrait from 1920 summarises the expressionist stage of his oeuvre, which was significantly influenced by the work of painter Miroslav Kraljević and the Munich Circle. The palette of his earlier stage had featured bright, vibrant colours, which here became dimmer and darker suggestive of a more intimate context. The introspective quality of Tartaglia’s A Self-Portrait is also underscored by his eyes gazing into the distance and away from the observer, which highlights the figure’s exclusive commitment to his own fixation.
The oeuvre of Marino Tartaglia (1894-1984) was shaped over the decades as a unique synthesis of different influences and styles, ranging from El Greco and Tintoretto, Primitivism, Cezannism, Cubism, Futurism to Neoclassicism, Colourism, and Lyrical and Reductive Abstraction. Once he finished primary school, he moved to Italy, where in 1912 he began his studies in Florence (under Alberto Giacometti) and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. During his studies he came into contact with representatives of Futurism. He was the only foreigner to have exhibited his work in Rome in 1918 at the Exhibition of Independent Artists together with Italian Avant-Gardists (Carlo Carrà, Giorgio De Chirico, Enrico Prampolini). After the end of World War I, he lived in Split, Vienna, Belgrade and France. In 1931 he became a full professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and in 1947 a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Text: Zlatko Tot, curator intern © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Ana Janković
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb