Ivana Rončević Elezović
Oton Iveković
Winter, 1908
oil on canvas, 60.2 x 80.3 cm
MG-398
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 Historicism 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.
Winter from 1908 is another example of Iveković’s masterful landscapes. The subtle composition in off-white and silver tones depicts a small distant figure in the vastness of the winter landscape. The painting’s viewpoint is located in the upper left corner, where a peasant hut is visible behind several bare trees, while furrowed lines across the snow-covered field lead up to it.
Text: Ivana Rončević Elezović, senior curator 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