Croatian painter
Mato Celestin Medovi?
(birth name Mato Medovi?; 17 November 1857 – 20 January 1920) was a
Croatian
painter. Best known for his large
paintings
depicting historical scenes, and his series of colourful landscapes and seascapes of his native
Dalmatia
, Medovi? is one of the earliest modern Croatian painters.
In his youth Medovi? was schooled to become a priest in the Franciscan Seminary in
Dubrovnik
, and was ordained in 1874, taking the name of Celestin. He received his first art training in Italy, and went on to study at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Munich
, where he began painting artistic impressions of
historical events
. Following graduation he decided to leave the church and pursue his painting career. Medovi? then moved to
Zagreb
and joined a group of artists led by
Vlaho Bukovac
, a renowned painter. His work from this period includes historical depictions at the building of the
Croatian Institute of History
(
Croatian
:
Hrvatski institut za povijest
). Since 1901 Medovi? increasingly began to spend time on his native
Pelje?ac
in southern Croatia, painting nature,
still lifes
,
seascapes
and
landscapes
in a style marked by his use of colour and light shadows.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Mato Medovi? was born on 17 November 1857 in
Kuna
on the
Pelje?ac
peninsula into a peasant family.
[1]
Young Mato got his first education at a nearby
Franciscan
monastery dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto (Delorita).
[2]
In 1868, at the age of 11 he joined the Franciscan seminary in
Dubrovnik
, where he took his vows in 1874, taking the name of Celestin.
[1]
The artistic talent of the young monk was noticed by Abbot Portoguaro Bernardino, on a visit from Rome. So in 1880, Medovi? was placed in the monastery of St Isidoro in
Rome
, known for its
Nazarene painters
. He was assigned to
Lodovico Seitz
, an influential artist who painted the
frescoes
in the
Cathedral of đakovo
.
[2]
However, the rigid and outdated artistic style did not suit Medovi?, and he looked for a different teacher in
Giuseppe Grandi
, then in the private school of
Antonio Ciseri
in
Florence
.
[1]
In 1886, the Franciscan order sent him back to Dubrovnik. However, at the urging of the painter
Emil Jakob Schindler
, he was sent to continue his studies at the
Academy of Arts in Munich
. There Medovi? studied
historical genre paintings
, particularly the work of
Karl von Piloty
. He composed large canvases of historical scenes, winning a silver medal in 1893 for his final diploma work "Bacchanal" (
Croatian
:
Bakanal
), and successfully exhibited his work in several European cities.
[1]
On his return to Dubrovnik in 1893, there seemed no possibility for further artistic progress. Dr
Franjo Ra?ki
(a founder member of the
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
) and Dr Iso Kr?njav (head of the Department of Culture (
Croatian
:
odjela za kulturu
)) invited him to Zagreb to join the group of artists around
Vlaho Bukovac
, a Dubrovnik artist who had recently left Paris and settled in Zagreb. So in 1895 Medovi? left the Franciscan order and set up a studio in Zagreb. During his stay there (1895?1907) he painted many religious works in northern Croatian churches (
Kri?evci
,
Po?ega
,
Nova Gradi?ka
) and historical compositions based on Croatian history,
[1]
most notably those in the Golden Hall (
Croatian
:
Zlatne dvorane
) of the Institute of History in Zagreb. Medovi? also painted a series of portraits of Zagreb people using fragmented lines, soft contours and vibrant colours.
[2]
In 1898, Medovi? had a house and studio built in Kuna, and a villa on the coast at Crkvice. He began to spend increasing amounts of time there, painting nature. In 1901, he held a group exhibit with
Oton Ivekovi?
, in which he presented his entire Zagreb works. Until 1907 Medovi? was kept busy with government works in Zagreb and exhibited with other Croatian artists in
Budapest
,
Copenhagen
,
Paris
,
Prague
,
Belgrade
,
Sofia
and Zagreb.
[1]
After 1908, Medovi? gave up his Zagreb studio entirely and remained on the Pelje?ac peninsula, living alone and painting. His subjects were taken from the nature around him, still lifes of fruit and fish, seascapes, and landscapes, filled with colour, light and soft shadows.
[1]
His seascapes are studies of light playing on the open sea, breaking waves or a moonlit night.
[2]
After a few years Medovi? grew tired of the isolation from other artists, and for a short time worked in Vienna (1912?1914). In 1914 he held an exhibition, where he sold all his paintings. At the start of the
First World War
he again went back to Kuna where the harsh living conditions took their toll on his health. By the end of the war Medovi? was suffering from renal disease and in late December 1919 he sought help at a hospital in
Sarajevo
, but too late.
[1]
He died on 20 January 1920, and was laid to rest in the cemetery in Kuna.
[2]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Medovi?'s time in Italy did not leave a lasting impression his work. His paintings from the time can be found in a few Franciscan monasteries, for example
Fucecchio
,
Faenza
, and
Cesena
.
[1]
His years spent at the Academy of Art in Munich (1888?1893) were more formative. There he adopted the style and neutral colors typical of the late 19th century. Some very well preserved portraits ("Mother" (
Croatian
:
Majka
), "Old Fisherman" (
Croatian
:
Stari ribar
), "Portrait of an old man" (
Croatian
:
Portret starca
)) are impressive studies of elderly people. A few paintings of saints, for example "St. Bonaventura", painted during this period, all reveal a high quality realistic interpretation.
[1]
During his time in Zagreb (1895?1907), Medovi? gradually absorbed some of Bukovac's techniques and brighter colours into his own artistic personality. His large historical compositions, "Srijemski Martyr" (
Croatian
:
Srijemski mu?enik
)", "Split Parliament" (
Croatian
:
Splitski sabor
), "Arrival of the Croats" (
Croatian
:
Dolazak Hrvata
), "Betrothal of King Zvonimir" (
Croatian
:
Zaruke kralja Zvonimira
), and "The Coronation of King Ladislas" (
Croatian
:
Krunidba kralja Ladislava
) demonstrate Medovi?'s eye for detail and his skillful interpretation of the subject. Portraits from this time include the expressive "St. Francis", and some drawings and paintings of the people of Zagreb.
[1]
Medovi?'s work on the Pelje?ac peninsula marked a complete departure in technique and themes. He painted still lifes, seascapes, and landscapes, which were new genres in Croatian art at the time. His palette became lighter and brighter as he worked outdoors: browns, greys and dull greens became purer, and were joined the purple of heather, the yellow of broom, and the rich array of blues of the sea. Abandoning his previously detailed style, his smaller studies from nature are more creative. With thick impasto and impulsive brush strokes, around 1907 a new style emerged in his work ?
pointillism
in a light, bright colours, that he used for his landscapes of Pelje?ac. Initially (1908?1912), these were disciplined strokes on larger canvases, but in his later (1914?1918), smaller paintings with impressionistically captured motifs, the strokes became softer and more diffuse colours. He was one of the first Croatian artists to paint the coastal landscapes, and it dominated his work after the turn of the century.
[1]
Medovi? was a versatile artist, among the first generation of modern Croatian painters. He was the leader in historical
[3]
and religious paintings (from intimate images of saints to altarpieces such as those on the island of
Pa?man
, the town of
Ba?ka
on the island of
Krk
, and
Vrboska
on the island of
Hvar
). He painted some fine portraits,
[1]
and Medovi? was the only Croatian artist in this period painting still lifes. However, his major contribution to Croatian painting is his series of landscapes, full of bright southern light and vigorous colours.
[4]
His hometown of Kuna now hosts an art colony, and art gallery in his name - KUD Mato Celestin Medovi?.
Medovic's painting of "Pelje?ko - kor?ulanski kanal", 1908?1912 appeared on a Croatian Post Office stamp in 1996.
[5]
Works
[
edit
]
Munich paintings
[
edit
]
- Mother (
Portret Majka
) 1894
[6]
- Old Fisherman (
Stari ribar
)
- Portrait of an old man (
Portret starca
)
- St. Bonaventura
- Bacchanal (
Bakanal
) 1890
[6]
Zagreb paintings
[
edit
]
- Split Parliament (
Splitski sabor
)
- Arrival of the Croats (
Dolazak Hrvata
),
- The Coronation of Ladislas of Naples (
Krunjenje Ladislava Napuljskog
)
- Betrothal of King Zvonimir (
Zaruke kralja Zvonimira
)
- The Srijem Martyrs (
Srijemski mu?enici
)
- St Jeronim 1901
[6]
- Madonna (
Bogorodica
) 1905
[6]
- St Francis
- Portrait of Clotilde Guthardt
- Portrait of middle-aged woman
- Portrait of Archbishop Posilovic
- Portrait of Pope Pius X
Pelje?ac paintings
[
edit
]
- Dead Calm Sea (
Bonaca
)
[7]
- After Spring Rains (
Poslije proljetne ki?e
)
[7]
- Pelje?ac Kor?ula Canal(
Pelje?ko Kor?ulanski Kanal
) 1908-12
[6]
- Moonlight (
Mjese?ina
)
[7]
- Heather (
Vrijes
) 1911
[7]
- Landscape (
Pejza?
)
[7]
- Fields (
Polje
)
[7]
- Heather (
Vrijes
)
[7]
- Still Life (
Mrtva Priroda
)
[7]
- Battle of Grobnik Plain (
Bitka Na Grobni?kom Polju
)
[7]
Exhibitions
[
edit
]
Solo
[
edit
]
- 2001 Mato Celestin Medovi?: Works from the Gallery's permanent collection
Gallery of Fine Arts, Split
(
Galerija Umjetnina Split
)
[6]
- 2007/2008 MATO CELESTIN MEDOVI?: An exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of his birth. From the holdings of the Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik
[4]
Group
[
edit
]
- 2009 Zagreb - Munich: Croatian Painting and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich,
Art Pavilion Zagreb
, Zagreb (
Croatian
:
Umjetnicki paviljon
)
[8]
- 2007 From the Gallery Collection,
Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik
[8]
- 2006 Selection from the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik Collection,
Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik
[8]
- 1896 Millennial Exhibition in Budapest
[9]
Museum collections
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
"On-line izlozba Mato Celestin Medovi?"
[Online Exhibit Mato Celestin Medovi?] (in Croatian). Gallerija Remek-djela. Archived from
the original
on 6 March 2016
. Retrieved
13 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Umro Mato Celestin Medovi?"
[The Death of Mato Celestin Medovi?] (in Croatian). Hrvatska radiotelevizija
. Retrieved
14 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Sonja Seferovi?.
"Mato Celestin Medovi?, 150. godi?njica rođenja. Utemeljitelj hrvatskog historijskog slikarstva"
[Mato Celestin Medovi?, 150 Year Anniversary of his Birth. The Founder of Croatian Historical Painting] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska: Vijesti
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Mato Celestin Medovi?: An exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of his birth"
. Museum of Modern Art, Dubrovnik. Archived from
the original
on 5 October 2011
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
Together with... Vlaho Bukovac, Mato Celestin Medovi? is the founder of Croatian modern painting, and one of its most highly valued representatives.
- ^
"Hrvatsko Moderno Slikarstvo - Mato Celestin Medovi?"
[Croatian Modern Artists - Mato Celestin Medovi?] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatska Posta
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Mato Celestin Medovi? : djela iz fundusa Galerije umjetnina 2001"
. Gallery of Fine Art, Split. Archived from
the original
on 23 February 2011
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Mato Celestin Medovi? 1857-1920"
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Mato Celestin Medovi? - Biography"
. Artfacts.net
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
- ^
Rachel Rossner.
"The secessionists are the Croats. They've been given their own pavilion: Vlaho Bukovac's Battle for Croatian Autonomy at the 1896 Millennial Exhibition in Budapest"
. ArtWorldWide
. Retrieved
18 November
2010
.
Plein-air painting celebrates veritable orgies. Two painters born in Dalmatia stand out there in the exhibition, and world fame doubtlessly awaits them… One is Celestin Medovic, whom we know from Munich, and the other is Vlaho Bukovac, Cabanel's student from Paris… Both are central to the Modern experiments with color.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Vera Kru?i? Uchytil:
Mato Celestin Medovi?
, Monograph, colour photographs Mitja Koman; black and white photographs Ivica Buzjak, Mitja Koman, Mladen Gr?evi?, published 1978 by Grafi?ki zavod Hrvatske in Zagreb. (Croatian)
- Zdenko Rus:
Medovi?, Celestin Mato
, in:
The Dictionary of Art
, hrsg. v. Jane Turner, Band 21, 1996. (
ISBN
1-884446-00-0
)
External links
[
edit
]
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