48. Blue Stonecutter [1974.]

Frano Šimunović was born in Dicmo near Sinj in 1908 and died in Zagreb in 1995. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1934, and then, upon the recommendation of his professor Ljubo Babić, spent some time in Madrid. From Spanish classical painting he adopts a sense for contrasts and the power a stroke can have. Frano Šimunović's work represents a critically important part of Croatian landscape painting in the 20th century. Following the line initiated by Ljubo Babić, which entails reducing natural scenery to an abstract sign, or a trace on canvas, Šimunović achieved a unique expression. The question of translating a part of nature into a painting in Šimunović's case is resolved in a fascinating transformation of the real impression into a painterly sensation. Associations with the motif exist in very discreet hints. This painting possesses all the characteristics of Šimunović's expression and is an exceptional example of his oeuvre, which combines the principles of classical landscape and the desire to express with pure painterly language. Reduced colors and condensed forms infuse the painting with expression, characteristic of the post-war period in art (the era of existentialism in philosophy, Art Informel and minimalism in painting – movements that seek meaning in the material and the truly present, reflectively deepening everyday experience). The painting was exhibited at Šimunović's exhibition at the Modern Gallery, which was held from May 9 to June 4, 1978, and published in the accompanying catalogue. FG

Dimensions

width 135 cm, height 91.5 cm

Description

ulje na platnu, signed bottom left, in white, "F. Šimunović"

Research information

The work was exhibited at the retrospective exhibition "FRANO ŠIMUNOVIĆ: PAINTING, DRAWING" at the Modern Gallery in Zagreb from 5.9 to 4.6.1978, and it was reproduced in the exhibition catalog under catalog number 87. under the title "Blue Stone" on page 54.

Dating

1974.

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