29. Montenegrin Gusle Player [1919.-1920.]

The painting "Montenegrin Guslar II" is a reduced version (study) of Bukovac's painting of the same name, sized 130 x 200 cm, painted in Prague in 1919, and signed in the lower left corner "Vlaho Bukovac, Prague, 1919", which has been housed and displayed for decades by the National Museum of Montenegro in the exhibition layout of the Museum of King Nikola in Cetinje. The large painting of the guslar from the Montenegrin museum collection was catalogued and described in detail by Dr. Sc. Vera Kružić Uchytil, the author of the first monograph of the painter, under catalogue no. 908.* However, since the description was not accompanied by a reproduction, we consider it necessary to provide a photo of this painting here. Bukovac's work, relevant not only for the birth of Croatian modern art, but also for Central European painting production at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, played an important role in changing the cultural climate in southeastern Europe, more precisely in Cetinje, where Bukovac worked at the court of King Nikola during 1883, producing 14 not only representative, but also first-class portraits and figurative compositions of all prominent members of the royal family. Upon returning to Paris, via Cavtat of course, where he also portrayed his two sisters, Bukovac continued to exhibit his so-called Montenegrin motif and figurative works at the Paris Salons, which captured the attention of both the jury and the public due to their interest in Orientalisms that were indeed in vogue at the time. For instance, the painting "Montenegrin Woman at a Meeting" was exhibited at the Paris Salon in the fall of 1883, and again received praise. Finally, when he settled in Zagreb in 1893 and began a vigorous renewal among the younger generations of Croatian painters, the Society of Croatian Artists bought the painting "Montenegrin Woman at a Meeting" for its "Modern Gallery", where it has been on permanent display ever since – along with other works by Bukovac. If one were to ask why Vlaho Bukovac was drawn to the "Montenegrin motif" again some twenty years after his stay and work in Cetinje, and why in 1919, in Prague – where he lived, painted, and taught at the Art Academy since 1905 – he painted as many as three versions of the painting "Montenegrin Guslar", we gladly respond by quoting a passage from the latest monograph "Bukovac" by the esteemed colleague Igor Zidić, the most knowledgeable expert on the painter's life and work.* On page 732, Zidić writes about Bukovac's work during Prague in 1919: (...) His artistic production is more or less standard in terms of number, but a certain decline, reduction of interest, repetition and variation of his old themes and motifs is noticeable. (...) Among some twenty paintings from that year, five are related to variations of old Montenegrin motifs, which, at that time, are a part of the distant pictorial and painter's past, and in Bukovac, they signify a sentimental glance back at the time of Orientalist fashion and the successes that this fashion, in his youthful Paris, brought him. Essentially, it was a year of retro-motifs and retro-costumes; in addition to the Montenegrin men and women in national costumes, there are also (...) replicas and variations of old paintings that show he is more active in his own past than in current times. BRP

References

Vera Kružić Uchytil, Vlaho Bukovac / Life and Work: 1855. – 1922., Publishing House Globus, 2005. Igor Zidić, Vlaho Bukovac (1855 – 1922), Museums and galleries Konavala, Bukovac House, Cavtat, 2024.

Dimensions

width 58 cm, height 36 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed lower left, in red, "Vlaho Bukovac"

Research information

The piece is accompanied by an expertise by Igor Zidić from 2012. The piece represents a reduced version of Vlaho Bukovac's painting "Montenegrin Guslar", painted in Prague in 1919. This painting, dimensions 130 × 200 cm, is kept in the National Museum of Montenegro, in the Museum of King Nikola in Cetinje.

Dating

1919.-1920.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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