Rudolf Valdec, Portrait of Vatroslav Jagić, 1923

Rudolf Valdec
(1872 – 1929)
Portrait of Vatroslav Jagić, 1923
casting, bronze
39 x 29 x 22 cm
MG-625

After having received academic education in Vienna (1890, 1894- 1895) and Munich (1891 -1894), the sculptor and medallist Rudolf Valdec became an accomplished artist and educator in Zagreb. With Robert Frangeš – Mihanović, he was the pioneer of modern sculpture in Croatia and modernist tendencies in the spirit of Secession in Croatian visual arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Valdec’s public monuments in the form of allegorical figural representations and busts on buildings in Zagreb’s Lower Town, Zrinjevac Park and the Mirogoj Cemetery are an integral part of modern identity of the City of Zagreb.
Rudolf Valdec was an exquisite modern portraitist. The artist added expressive individuality to realistic form, interwoven with Art Nouveau stylization, and connected character with appropriate artistic solutions.
The portrait bust of the Croatian linguist Vatroslav Jagić (1838 – 1923) sits on a thin plinth. The semi-profile view reveals the hollowness of the obliquely cut bust. The physiognomic details are adequately descriptive: the frontal view reveals a closed, full and robust head volume, a serious, wide face, accentuated earlobes sticking out from the head, hair parted in a straight line, thick eyebrows, strong nose, bushy moustache, pressed lips, and wide chin. A ribbon tied in a bow can be seen around the neck, and the coat’s lapel is oval. Art Nouveau decorativeness and stylisation in the treatment of the hair dovetail with the smooth modelling of playful facial surfaces. Art Nouveau melodiousness is present in the agitated surface and treatment of details.

Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum consultant of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Rudolf Valdec, Portrait of Dr. Izidor Kršnjavi, c. 1905

Rudolf Valdec
(1872 – 1929)
Portrait of Dr. Izidor Kršnjavi, c. 1905
bronze, 47 x 35 x 30 cm
MG-6741

One of the founders of Croatian modern sculpture and medallic art, after having been educated at the Academies of Fine Art in Vienna (1890, 1894 - 1895) and Munich (1891 -1894), he became an accomplished artist and educator in Zagreb.
Rudolf Valdec was an exquisite portraitist. He achieved expressive individuality with realistic form, interwoven with the Secession stylization, and adapted appropriate artistic solutions to individual characteristics of the portrayed persons. In a series of commissioned portrait busts, in addition to realistic form, he also managed to achieve a deep psychologization of the prominent personalities he portrayed.
Portrait of Dr. Izidor Kršnjavi (Našice, 22 April 1845 - Zagreb, 3 February 1927), Croatian painter, art historian, patron and head of the Department of Religious Affairs and Education was made in the manner of realistic representative portraits, with prominent character traits. The portrait is rendered with all the physiognomic details – striking facial features, high brow, expressive eyebrows, eyelids, nose and lush moustache and beard. Art Nouveau accents are manifested in the curvature of the lines around the eyes and the linear stylisation of strands of hair, beard and moustache. With this procedure, dynamism is skilfully implemented into a serious physiognomy and a solid bust. In the spirit of the time, Izidor Kršnjavi’s bust originally stood on a polished wooden pillar that was also a cabinet.

Text: Tatijana Gareljić, museum advisorof 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 , 2022

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