Oton Iveković
Interesting Reading, 1901
oil on canvas
70 x 50 cm
MG-389
Oton Iveković (1869–1939) studied painting in Zagreb under Ferdo Quiquerez, then from 1886 in Vienna under Christian Griepenkerl and August Eisenmenger, and finally in Munich under Wilhelm von Lindenschmit and in Karlsruhe under Ferdinand von Keller. He worked as a drawing teacher at a grammar school in Zagreb, from 1895 at the School of Crafts and from 1908 at the College of Arts (today’s Academy of Fine Arts). In 1908, he was elected as president of the Lada Croatian Artists’ Association. He travelled across Croatia, Italy, Germany and the USA, and during World War I he worked as a war painter. Along with Menci Clement Crnčić, Iveković is considered as one of the most prominent representatives of historical painting in Croatia, particularly inspired by national sentiment. Towards the end of his life, he retired to Veliki Tabor Castle in the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje.
The vertical composition depicts a genre scene of a girl reading while seated on a garden bench, shaded by the tree canopy. She holds a book with a red cover in her hands. Her left arm, bent at the elbow, hangs loosely by her side, while her right arm rests on the bench’s back. The red accent of the book in the upper part of the painting is echoed by the red flowers in pots in the lower part, creating a complementary contrast to the green foliage in the background.
The painting is created with a blotchy technique and light colours in plein air, giving it an almost Impressionistic feel. The red accents are prominent among the green, brown, and yellowish hues of the garden, bench, and plant pots, as is the blue-and-white contrast of the girl’s dress. The central elements of the girl, bench, and plant pots form a triangle within the garden scene, providing stability to the composition.
Text: PhD Ivana Rončević Elezović, 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