oil on canvas, 95 x 79 cm

PROVENANCE

Historical collection of the Vrhovac family, Zagreb; by inheritance to the current owner.

Josip Franjo Mücke (circa 1819-1883) was a prominent academic painter of Hungarian origin who left a significant mark on Croatian visual arts of the 19th century. After studying at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of Leopold Kupelwieser, he brought the strict discipline of Viennese academic realism to Croatia in 1843. Initially established in Slavonia – painting family portraits, landscapes and sacred works in Vukovar, Osijek and Djakovo – before he permanently settled in Zagreb in 1865. Throughout his incredibly productive decade in Zagreb (1865-1875), Mücke established himself as one of the city’s leading portraitists. He portrayed members of high society, nobility, and esteemed civic leaders, while also working as an art educator, teaching future Croatian art greats like Ferdo Quiquerez. His residence in Zagreb directly coincided with the rise of Dr. Josip Hoffman, who during the 1860s built a successful legal and political career during a period of strong awakening of Croatian national pride. Mücke’s portrait perfectly records this phase of Hoffman’s life, using thoughtful visual symbols that reflect his social status and convictions. Depicted in a dark coat with characteristic horizontal braids, known as a surka. During the 1860s, such traditional clothing was a strong political statement by which intellectuals signaled their commitment to the Croatian national revival within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Additionally, his hand resting on a manuscript, with books and an inkwell on the table, directly highlights his actual profession of a lawyer, scholar, and civic leader in his forties. This impressive representation also functions as a visual forewarning of Hoffman’s later political peak, when he was elected Mayor of Zagreb, a duty he held in high esteem from 1881 to 1885.

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