enamel on ceramics, 4 x 3 cm

PROVENANCE

Until the late 1940s: historical collection of Ervin Weiss (1884-1966) and Branka Weiss (1902-1975); 1947: The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of Croatia declares the Weiss collection a private collection of public importance; After 1949: The collection is inventoried by the communist regime, followed by confiscation; 1955: The collection is transferred to the care of the Modern Gallery, where it is kept for the next 70 years; After 2021: The collection becomes the property of the Weiss family heirs, after nearly 30 years of legal proceedings for restitution.

This miniature depiction of the Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić (1801-1859) immortalizes, on an exceptionally small format, one of the true giants of Croatian history, credited with the abolition of serfdom and convening of the first parliament. The figure of Ban Jelačić, as the leading political figure of his time, was usually recorded in large format works, such as the half-figure portrayal by Ivan Zasche, or the dramatic realization "Croatian Parliament 1848" by Dragutin Weingärtner. Although small in size, this miniature successfully transposes, within its small dimensions, all the elements characteristic of the well-known depictions of the Ban – he is dressed in his banal suit, decorated with numerous decorations, while his face is marked by characteristic moustaches and a sharp, decisive look. The inscription on the back attributes this miniature to a certain 'Chodowiecki', probably referring to the well-known German painter and graphic artist Daniel Chodowiecki (1726–1801). Although this historical attribution is not sustainable, as Daniel Chodowiecki died the same year when Ban Jelačić was just born, it nevertheless attests to the quality of the subject portrait which was obviously linked to one of the leading painters of his time. MM

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