References

Blind alleys in the life of Slava pl. Raškaj / Josip Kovačić. 217 pages.

1. oil on canvas; 2. oil on canvas, 1. 52 x 27 cm; 2. 52 x 27 cm, 1. signed bottom left, in red, "Glory"; 2. signed bottom right, in red, "Glory"

Research information

The work is reproduced in "Dead End Streets in the Life of Slava pl. Raškaj", Josip Kovačić, Art Magazine Kontura, Zagreb, 2019, on page 217 under the title "Bouquet of Chrysanthemums I.II."

Born deaf, Slava Raškaj (Ozalj, 1877. – Stenjevec, 1906.) faced many prejudices because she was considered mentally ill in the society of that time. Despite this, she attended elementary and high school in Vienna. Isidor Kršnjavi noticed her painting talent and invited her to the Institute for the Deaf in Zagreb where she completed a course in drawing and decorative painting. She painted often, especially during frequent travels. Fellow artists respected her, and she exhibited six watercolors at the first exhibition of the Croatian salon. She also joined the Society of Croatian Artists. However, she couldn't manage to live from selling her paintings, she also stopped receiving her scholarship. Dark themes began to appear in her paintings as a harbinger of her imminent hospitalization under the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. She died of tuberculosis four years upon her hospitalization. Despite her early death, at only 29 years old, she left an indelible mark on Croatian visual art. Slava's creativity is recognized by watercolors, of which about 500 have been preserved. She created under the influence of impressionism. She often conveyed landscapes on canvas, especially the Kupa river and her native region. During her schooling in Vienna, she learned to paint on live flower models, and in her older age, she more often paints floral still life. This theme is on an oil diptych from 1898 in which impression prevails. The dark background she took from B. Č. Sesija is slowly fading. The oil on canvas is signed in the lower left, or right corner. In her creations, flowers can be interpreted as a motive of fragility, transience but also vitality. Bouquets of lavish voluminous multicolored chrysanthemums are expressively modeled with thick brush strokes. While one, pinkish-white part of the diptych exudes lightness, tranquility, the other part is strong, warm, and alive, which contributes to the balance of the composition.

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