Tag: Sava Šumanović

Sava Šumanović, Three Female Semi-Nudes, 1921

Sava Šumanović
Three Female Semi-Nudes, 1921
oil on canvas
162.9 x 146.6 cm
MG-1274

Sava Šumanović (1896 – 1942) started exhibiting at the Croatian Spring Salon as a Higher School of Arts and Crafts student in Zagreb. He exhibited independently; as early as 1918 and 1920, he did illustrations for the avant-garde magazine "Juriš" and scenography for the Croatian National Theatre. After his first successes in Zagreb, he went to Paris, where he studied at André Lhote. Returning to Zagreb, Šumanović was disappointed by the extent of the misunderstanding, so he signed the pictures in French transcription as a sign of protest. Although Šumanović's crucial exhibition in the style of classicizing academic cubism in Zagreb in 1921 was met with positive reviews, in 1925, Šumanović went to Paris again. Suffering from mental illness, in 1930, he finally retreated to his parents in Šid. He worked devotedly until his execution in the Second World War in 1942.
Šumanović was the first to attend the Lhote Academy. Upon his return to Zagreb, he exhibited works from Paris, introducing a new art language to the local art scene. Despite the audience's misunderstanding due to his departure from traditional expressionism, he persisted in his cubist endeavors, but critics enthusiastically greeted the work. The framework of the composition "Three Female Half-nudes" is formed by the dramatic, broken forms of massive female bodies. In the picture, the women are shown in different poses with accentuated contrasts of light and shadow that further emphasize the voluminousness of their bodies. The colors are intense, with predominant shades of red and brown creating a dramatic atmosphere. Closed within the picture's frame, the figures do not communicate directly with the observer but leave the impression of introspective isolation.

Text: Marta Radman, curator of the National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Marta Radman
Photo: Goran Vranić© National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

Sava Šumanović, In the Studio (Self-Portrait), 1920-21

Sava Šumanović
In the Studio (Self-Portrait), 1920-21
charcoal on paper
MG-4370

The period during which this drawing was created represents one of the most successful stages of Šumanović’s career. Born in Vinkovci in 1896, he completed his secondary education in Šid and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1918. In 1920, he held his second solo exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, which was well-received by both the public and critics. Collectors acquired nearly two-thirds of his works, allowing Šumanović to finally make his way to Paris. Upon arriving in his dream city that same year, he initially finds it difficult to adjust. However, he soon finds his place at André Lhote’s school, marking the beginning of what art historian Dimitrije Bašičević describes as his “constructivist phase,” referring to Antun Branko Šimić, who once said that Šumanović’s painting “does not adhere to forms of nature, but rather forms from geometry.” While the figure of the painter is depicted from behind, following the conventions of realistic drawing, the studio space, fireplace, and easel are portrayed, influenced by Lhote’s post-cubist school, in a geometric style, that is, using shapes that do not relate to one another through realistic illusion, but through the rules set by art itself. Upon returning from Paris, Šumanović organised his third solo exhibition in Zagreb in 1921. However, his post-cubist style did not appeal to the general public, though critics gave positive reviews of the new works. This disappointment had a profound impact on Šumanović, and, as Bašičević notes, it marks the symbolic beginning of his tragic path, culminating in his death in 1942 in a Ustaše-run prison in Sremska Mitrovica.

Text: Klaudio Štefančić, 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

Sava Šumanović, A Self-Portrait, 1925

Sava Šumanović
(1896-1942)
A Self-Portrait, 1925
oil on canvas
100x80.6 cm
MG-1964

Thanks to the figure having been placed in the foreground of the composition, Sava Šumanović’s A Self-Portrait painting from 1925 is an example of his approach to Figurative Art. Šumanović balanced the disproportionate relationship between the figure in the foreground and the interior in the background by having graded the view of the sequence of rooms in the depth of the painting. His A Self-Portrait belongs to the “green phase” of his work, which is evident in the grey-blue and green colour palette, which represents a departure from his earlier post-cubist phase.
Sava Šumanović began exhibiting at Croatia’s Spring Salon (1917) already as a student of the College of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, and had solo exhibitions set up as early as 1918 and 1920. He produced illustrations for the avant-garde magazine Juriš and stage designs for the Croatian National Theatre. Following his first successes in Zagreb, he moved to Paris where he worked at André Lhote’s studio. Upon his return to Zagreb, Šumanović was disappointed with the wider public’s lack of understanding of his art, so in protest he signed his paintings in French. Although Šumanović’s key exhibition of works painted in the style of classicised academic Cubism held in Zagreb in 1921 received good reviews, Šumanović moved back to Paris in 1925. Having gotten mentally ill, in 1930 he moved back to his parents’ home in Šid. He painted a series of cityscape vedutas, children’s portraits, landscapes, and compositions of women bathers and pickers in the spirit of Poetic Realism. He worked diligently until he was executed in World War II in 1942.

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

Sava Šumanović, A Sculptor at His Studio, 1921

Sava Šumanović
A Sculptor at His Studio, 1921
oil on canvas
91×74.5 cm
MG-1966

Departing significantly from the art scene in Croatia which drew at the time on the legacy of Miroslav Kraljević and the Munich Circle, and which was orientated towards Expressionism, the post-cubist composition A Sculptor at His Studio from 1921 is a paradigm of Sava Šumanović’s ‘new art’.
Sava Šumanović started exhibiting at Croatia’s Spring Salon already as a student at the High School of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. He socialised and collaborated with painters Milan Steiner and Bogumil Car, and exhibited his work at solo exhibitions as early as 1918 and 1920. His paintings sold well, and he produced illustrations for poet Antun Branko Šimić’s avant-garde magazine Juriš and set designs for the Croatian National Theatre.

Following his first successes in Zagreb, he moved to Paris where he worked at the studio of painter André Lhote. Upon his return to Zagreb, Šumanović was disappointed with the wider public’s lack of understanding of his art, so in protest he signed his paintings in French. Although Šumanović’s key exhibition of works painted in the style of classicised academic Cubism held in Zagreb in 1921 received good reviews by young critics Antun Branko Šimić and Rastko Petrović, Šumanović moved back to Paris in 1925. Inspired by painter Henri Matisse’s powerful colours, he painted large figural compositions. In 1927, inspired by Arthur Rimbaud’s poetry and Théodore Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa, he painted The Drunken Ship, which was exhibited at the Salon of the Independents and chosen for the cover of Le Crapouillot, an important contemporary art magazine. Having gotten mentally ill, in 1930 he moved with his parents to Šid. He painted a series of cityscape vedutas, children’s portraits, landscapes and compositions of women bathers and pickers in the vein of Poetic Realism. He worked diligently until his execution in World War II in 1942.

Text: Lada Bošnjak Velagić, senior curator of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Ana Janković
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb

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