120. Painter in the Studio [kasne 1950-e]

A pioneer of the post-war surrealist and fantastic painting in Croatia, Miljenko Stančić (Varaždin, 1926. - Zagreb, 1977.) graduated from the Academy in Zagreb and attended a graphics course with Tomislav Krizman. He created illustrations for newspapers, books and magazines, as well as wall paintings on the ceiling of the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin. In the 1950s, he exhibited with Vaništa at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, and they were later joined by Ljubo Ivančić, Valerije Michieli, and Ivan Kožarić, who together formed the Group of Five. In his works, dream and reality, autobiographical and imaginary events under the aura of mysticism and surrealism were intertwined. Sometimes memories of his prematurely deceased older brother, whom Miljenko never met, would surface. Stančić is recognizable for his paintings of his native Varaždin – streets, squares, interiors. In the interiors, he often depicts the same motifs – a set table, a white tablecloth, a kitchen, an empty bedroom. For a period, he painted human figures as phantasmagoric metamorphoses in strangely lit interiors. The displayed oil on canvas depicts a typical Stančić chamber scene, a dark atmosphere, a man at a table or most likely at an easel. The artist's figure resembles a faceless doll. A single light source illuminates the melancholic painting and the gloomy interior, with an almost monochrome palette. The artist's silhouette is outlined by the light of an orange-red sunset or dawn coming in through the window.

Dimensions

width 80 cm, height 66 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed lower right, engraved, "M Stančić"

Dating

kasne 1950-e

PROVENANCE

A personal gift from Miljenko Stančić to his friend, the musical bard and recipient of the Porin Lifetime Achievement Award, Mr. Nenad Turkalj.

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