Vladimir Becić Threshing I, 1935, Threshing II, 1934

 

Vladimir Becić

Threshing I, 1935
ink, watercolour
480 mm x 615 mm
MG- 881

Threshing II, 1934
ink, watercolour
479 mm x 621 mm
MG-888

Although these two watercolours are not included among Vladimir Becić’s major works, it is surprising that they have been overlooked by the art public. There are several reasons for this. First, history of art has always regarded easel painting as superior to drawing, watercolour, or tempera. Professional community typically evaluates the quality of an artist’s work through painting. Second, the motifs in these watercolours have also been explored in Becić’s paintings, likely leading researchers to see little reason for further study. Finally, “Threshing I” and “Threshing II” are seldom exhibited or reproduced, which has hindered their visibility to both experts and the wider audience.

Vladimir Becić is a representative of the modernist concept of ‘pure painting.’ Born in Slavonski Brod in 1886, he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1906. In 1909, he moved to Paris, but after exhibiting at the Paris Autumn Salon, he returned to Croatia and settled in Osijek. He served as an official war artist for the Serbian army during World War I, and after the war, he made his home in Blažuj near Sarajevo. It was during this time that Becić developed an interest in depicting rural everyday life. At their core, both “Threshing” watercolours belong to the pastoral genre. In both literature and visual art, pastoral scenes traditionally illustrate the interaction between people and nature, presenting their relationship as harmonious. The application of pastoral themes in Modern art, particularly Croatian art during the interwar period, was marked by regionalism and ruralism, phenomena that emphasised one geographical area over another and elevated rural life above urban living. Considering Becić’s time in the village of Blažuj and his pronounced affinity for the ideology of popular, South Slavic culture, which he expressed particularly strongly since World War I, we can assert that all aspects of this pastoral variant are evident in the watercolours. However, Becić would not be regarded as a modern painter if he did not modernise the scene in some way. Thus, both watercolours feature not only peasants but also a threshing machine used to separate the grain from the stalks.

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

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