The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.
Miljenko Stančić (Varaždin, 1926. - Zagreb, 1977.) was a Croatian painter and graphic artist, the founder of the poetic surrealistic movement in Croatian painting. He graduated in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and then in graphics at the Special School of T. Krizman. He was part of the Group of Five with J. Vaništa, Lj. Ivančić, V. Michieli and I. Kožarić. He made wall paintings on the ceiling of the Croatian National Theater in Varaždin, illustrations for newspapers, books, magazines and was a set designer. He exhibited at solo exhibitions all over Europe. He taught at the Academy in Zagreb until his untimely death at the age of 51. His paintings intertwine dream and reality, reality, memory and apparition, and Stančić creates a fantastic world on them. Critics attacked him for using the same motives excessively and for creating too much on order and his own inspiration, thus losing the value of his works. The dominant motif of his paintings is the child - he depicted floating children's bodies, probably reflecting on the prematurely deceased brother. He often depicted his hometown Varaždin on canvas, but not in the hustle and bustle but as a place of dreamy and foggy atmosphere. From 1954, he began to paint phantasmagoric metamorphoses of human figures and human figures in dimly lit interiors. The Card Players cycle, which also includes the oil on canvas named Card Playing, was created during this period. The painting is signed in the lower left corner in red. Stančić depicts his typical chamber scene - a dark atmosphere, human figures that resemble puppets. A common motif of Stančić's paintings is also a white tablecloth. People with faint outlines of faces sit around a table, which stands as a symbol of community, and play cards. Although there are five people and a dog in the picture, it exudes silence, calmness, and even solitude. The most active figure in the spatially simple composition is the white-brown dog. Light comes from only one source, a window on the left, emphasizing the whiteness of the tablecloth and the dog. It is this whiteness that elevates the melancholic image and the gloomy interior, as well as accents of red - socks, cards, clothes. Behind the dog, who is interested in what is happening around the table, stands a woman with her hair up holding a cigarette in her hands. The play of shadows and light on her face reveals that she is laughing while watching the card game.
Dimensions
width 81.5 cm, height 65.5 cm
Description
oil on canvas, signed at the bottom left, in red, "M. Stančić"
PROVENANCE
Historical collection of Mate Baričević.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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.
Detalii
Miljenko Stančić (Varaždin, 1926. - Zagreb, 1977.) was a Croatian painter and graphic artist, the founder of the poetic surrealistic movement in Croatian painting. He graduated in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and then in graphics at the Special School of T. Krizman. He was part of the Group of Five with J. Vaništa, Lj. Ivančić, V. Michieli and I. Kožarić. He made wall paintings on the ceiling of the Croatian National Theater in Varaždin, illustrations for newspapers, books, magazines and was a set designer. He exhibited at solo exhibitions all over Europe. He taught at the Academy in Zagreb until his untimely death at the age of 51. His paintings intertwine dream and reality, reality, memory and apparition, and Stančić creates a fantastic world on them. Critics attacked him for using the same motives excessively and for creating too much on order and his own inspiration, thus losing the value of his works. The dominant motif of his paintings is the child - he depicted floating children's bodies, probably reflecting on the prematurely deceased brother. He often depicted his hometown Varaždin on canvas, but not in the hustle and bustle but as a place of dreamy and foggy atmosphere. From 1954, he began to paint phantasmagoric metamorphoses of human figures and human figures in dimly lit interiors. The Card Players cycle, which also includes the oil on canvas named Card Playing, was created during this period. The painting is signed in the lower left corner in red. Stančić depicts his typical chamber scene - a dark atmosphere, human figures that resemble puppets. A common motif of Stančić's paintings is also a white tablecloth. People with faint outlines of faces sit around a table, which stands as a symbol of community, and play cards. Although there are five people and a dog in the picture, it exudes silence, calmness, and even solitude. The most active figure in the spatially simple composition is the white-brown dog. Light comes from only one source, a window on the left, emphasizing the whiteness of the tablecloth and the dog. It is this whiteness that elevates the melancholic image and the gloomy interior, as well as accents of red - socks, cards, clothes. Behind the dog, who is interested in what is happening around the table, stands a woman with her hair up holding a cigarette in her hands. The play of shadows and light on her face reveals that she is laughing while watching the card game.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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.
Dimensions
width 81.5 cm, height 65.5 cm
Description
oil on canvas, signed at the bottom left, in red, "M. Stančić"
