Vera Fischer
Shapes of Summer, 1971
oil on canvas
46 x 60 cm
MG-3487
Vera Fischer (1925 – 2009), an academic sculptor, graduated in 1951 in the class of Vanja Radauš. She belongs to a generation of artists permanently marked by the horrors of wartime destruction. During the Second World War, she was interned in camps on Rab and Kupari under the Italian administration, and after the capitulation of Italy, she joined the National Liberation Movement. Striving to unite Christianity and Judaism, in 1989, she created a symbol of reconciliation, a wooden cross with a Star of David in place of the heart of Jesus. She finds solace in existentialism, accepting it as the guiding principle of creation in a chaotic world. She reached a kind of artistic peak with popartist collages from the 1960s, and in the 1970s, she turned to photography. Today, her work is unfortunately unfairly marginalized.
In her work, Fischer explores the boundaries between high and low, between art and everyday life, using motifs from nature and the human figure to create unique visual narratives. Through "Shapes of Summer," Fischer reexamines traditional depictions of the fefemale body, placing them in the context of everyday scenes, thereby adding a layer of irony and social criticism. In this sense, the work shows the beauty and sensuality of the fefemale body and raises questions about social norms and perceptions of beauty.
The work represents one of the more witty creations in the author's rich oeuvre. In the restless background of sea waves and a tomato bush, she positions a naked female torso. The nude theme is common within her oeuvre, and despite flirting with kitsch, she manages to achieve a delicate balance between sensuality and symbolism, using soft sfumato and vibrant colors.
Text: Marta Radman, curator of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Marta Radman
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb