62. Conversation

Miljenko Stančić (Varaždin 1926 – Zagreb, 1977) is one of the most important Croatian representatives of Surrealistic and Metaphysical tendencies. He was born in difficult circumstances as the second child in the family. His older brother died at only six months, a few years before Miljenko's birth. Although he never met his brother, his death influenced Stančić's work and art. Stančić's early works were not preserved because a bomb fell on his house in Varaždin during the Second World War, destroying his hitherto works. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and then attended a graphics course with T. Krizman. He made illustrations for newspapers, books and magazines, and wall paintings on the ceiling of the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin. He exhibited at exhibitions across Europe. He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts until his premature death at the age of 51. Stančić is considered the initiator of Croatian post-war Surrealistic and Fantastic painting. Dream and reality, autobiographical and imaginary motifs under the aura of mysticism and surrealism interwove in his works throughout his life. He spent his whole life painting his hometown of Varaždin. He portrayed Varaždin streets, squares, interiors along with frequent motifs of a set table with a white tablecloth, kitchen, empty bedrooms. Another dominant motif of his paintings is a child - he depicted levitating child bodies, probably reflecting on his prematurely deceased brother. From the 50s to the 70s, he experimented with the depiction of human figures which he depicts as dolls placed in a spatially simple composition, which he probably painted from memory. In the 50s, he hyper-produced works, both by order and by his own inspiration, and he was criticized for his works losing value and for overly using the same motifs. In those years, he exhibited with Vaništa in the Museum of Arts and Crafts, and they were later joined by Ljubo Ivančić, Valerije Michieli and Ivan Kožarić who together made up the Group of Five. After 1970 he began to introduce erotic motives into his paintings. The oil painting titled "Conversation" is characteristic of the earlier period of Stančić's creation. Darkness dominates in an intimate, probably family, atmosphere, with light coming only through one window. The table with a typical white tablecloth is the center of the events. Four human figures are depicted as in a dream in a typical chamber scene, as well as a white and brown dog sitting under the table. The palette is almost monochrome - brown dominates with a touch of blue and yellow.

Dimensions

width 81.5 cm, height 65.5 cm

Description

ulje na platnu, signed lower right, in black, "M. Stančić"

Research information

The work is accompanied by an expertise of Igor Zidić from 2011.

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