oil on canvas, 96.5 x 130 cm, signed and dated top right, in blue, ''B. Dogan (1)956''

Research information

The work was exhibited at the XII. exhibition of ULUH on the occasion of the celebration of Liberation Day of Zagreb, Art Pavilion, Zagreb, 1956.

PROVENANCE

From the collection of Vera and Dušan Čalić (1918 - 1993); --------------Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1952 (Lj. Babić), was a collaborator in the Master Workshop of K. Hegedušić, and a member of the Mart group. Initially, he painted poetic and imaginative landscapes as well as portraits (Quiet Bay, 1959), later approaching abstract expression and tachism in compositions with emphasized chromatic values (Like Night, 1977; Bonfire, 1980). He also worked in scenography, costume design, book illustration, and creation of posters and tapestries.

The fantastic and romantic composition "Old Town" by Boris Dogan (1923-1992) showcases his characteristic, pronounced grafism. Its model can definitely be found in the works of Paul Klee. Dark geometric surfaces suggest the view of a nighttime city, against an indigo blue background. The right side of the picture is dominated by a circle containing a large crescent, with linearly highlighted textures. Circles and quadrangles of different colors are scattered across the surface of the painting, as if suggesting various night illuminations in the city from undefined sources. The nocturnal cityscape is simultaneously subdued, due to the tonal dominance of indigo blue, but also playful, lively, fervent, due to the scattered shapes in the picture. In addition to painting, Dogan often successfully pursued illustration and design. By implementing some basic modernist views on the effects of shapes and colors, as well as those regarding the visual work as an organism that needs to emanate special emotions thanks to adept arrangement of form elements, he managed to introduce both painterly mastery and lightness and flutteriness into his work. The pursuit of these principles in art, equally applied in both painting and design, marked the theoretical and practical efforts of modernists and left a significant echo in the artistic weltanschauung of Boris Dogan. FG

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