oil on canvas, 106 x 67 cm

Bela Čikoš Sesija is acclaimed as a fundamental pillar of Croatian modern art and a leading representative of symbolism in this area at the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century. Trained by Julius Berger and Leopold Karl Müller at the Vienna Academy, Čikoš Sesija fully mastered academic realism. However, his artistic sensibility quickly inclined towards the secessionist rebellion against literal naturalism. As a co-founder of a private art school that would eventually evolve into the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, his contemporary Ljubo Babić famously declared him the intellectual leader of the Croatian Secession. Throughout his career, Čikoš Sesija often found creative inspiration in classical literature, mythology, and theology. In the late phase of his creativity, his artistic focus dramatically shifted from historical and classical epic narratives towards a deeply personal, eschatological visual language. The artist did not use biblical motifs out of religious submission, but as complex allegories of universal human existentialism, a transitory threshold between the physical and spiritual spheres, and the expanses of the metaphysical world. The artwork Council of the Twenty Four Elders, which belongs to his visionary Cycle of Revelation, represents a deep exploration of apocalyptic scenes taken directly from the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.