30. In the Tavern [1940.]

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30. In the Tavern [1940.]

Marijan Trepše

1897, Zagreb - 1964, Zagreb

Not sold

Post-auction price

EUR 7.200

akvarel na papiru, 40 x 54 cm, signed lower right, in blue, "M. Trepše"

Research information

The work was exhibited at the retrospective exhibition "Marijan Trepše" in the Art Pavilion in Zagreb from November 21, 2010 - January 30, 2011, and was reproduced in the exhibition catalog under catalog number 103. with the title "Two" on page 99.

PROVENANCE

private collection

Marijan Trepše (Zagreb, 1897 – Zagreb, 1964) is one of the more significant painters between the two World Wars. He graduated in the class of Bela Čikoš-Sesija at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He then honed his skills in Prague where he adopted Sezession and Cubism. He is considered a member of the informal group, the Prague Four, along with Uzelac, Gecan, and Varlaj. In his early twenties he participated in the Spring Salon exhibition with this group that announced a generational shift and the prevalence of Expressionism, while also showing the influence of the prematurely deceased Miroslav Kraljević. Flatness and the influence of cubistic deconstruction of space predominate in Trepše's paintings. He approaches Expressionism using non-mimetic colors and shading with triangular patches. Common themes of his work are pubs, the poor, cafés, and the nightlife. He attended the academy in Paris and adopted Classicism, popular at the time in France. Neoclassicism is most pronounced in his representations of female nudes. From the 1930s he freely painted landscapes, still lives, and portraits with vibrant colors. Besides being a painter, he proved to be an exceptionally successful scenographer at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb where he worked until his retirement. His virtuosity in creating stained glass also needs highlighting – one from 1935 still stands today in the chapel of the Wounded Jesus in the center of Zagreb. In his watercolor on paper, "In the Pub" from 1940, Trepše shapes volume and does not show smooth and fine city life, but a harsh underworld with a motif from the night city life – two drunk men probably sleeping in some pub. The table on which one of the drunkards is leaning does not have a typical Trepše emphasized pitch, but the artist uses a characteristic green color and a strong contrast of light and shadow of cool earthy color tones.

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