Lectures | Irena Kraševac: Artistic education, exhibitions, and the organisation of fine arts events in Zagreb in the 19th century

12.12.2016
Croatian Art Salon, 1898
Croatian Art Salon, 1898

Together with the Department of Art History of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana we cordially invite you to attend two lectures by art historian Irena Kraševac that are part of the seminar Art for Collective Use: Art Exhibiting in Slovenia, from the Early 19th Century to Today. These lectures will be held in Croatian.


IRENA KRAŠEVAC

Arts Association: Exhibitions and the Organisation of Fine Arts Events in Zagreb in the 19th Century
Monday, 12 December 2016, 7 pm, Faculty of Arts (room 343), Aškerčeva 2, Ljubljana


In the second half of the 19th century art passed from the mostly ecclesiastical and private sphere of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie into the public realm, which was professionalised and popularised through the operation of the Arts Association (1868). This association spearheaded the foundation of the Museum of Arts and Crafts (1880) and the Crafts School (1882). After the foundation of the University and the Academy of Sciences and Arts (1866), Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer’s donation of paintings by old masters (1884) and the creation of the first chair of art history (1878), Zagreb became an important artistic centre in the broader region of Central and Southeast Europe. By organising exhibitions in Zagreb and participating in exhibitions in Vienna, Budapest, Copenhagen, Trieste, and Paris, Croatian art was propelled beyond the framework of its local environment and it attempted to keep up with European artistic practices at the end of the 19th century. The lecture will focus on the Gründerzeit period of the Croatian art scene and attempt to explain the cultural and historical context of the period in which the institutions fundamental to the development of Croatian modern art were established at the initiative of the Arts Association and its founder Iso Kršnjavi (1845–1927).

The Beginnings of Artistic Education in Zagreb in the 19th Century: From the Drawing School to the National Arts and Crafts School
Tuesday, 13 December 2016, 1 pm, Faculty of Arts (room 343), Aškerčeva 2, Ljubljana


A more systematic fine arts education inclusive of a broader swath of social strata is related to the onset of Enlightenment and compulsory education as imposed by law. At the beginning of the 19th century, the education regulations (Ratio educationis) introduced drawing as a compulsory subject, while the teaching guidelines for the entire monarchy were prescribed by the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts. The Zagreb drawing school started operating in 1781, and was closed after the establishment of the Crafts School in 1882. The lecture will focus on the history of art education in Zagreb in the 19th century with an emphasis on the significance of the Crafts School, which later served as the foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts.

Irena Kraševac is a senior research adviser at the Institute of Art History in Zagreb. Her research field is Croatian art of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, especially art education, the history of art institutions and Croatian art in the Central European context. She cooperated in the projects of the Croatian Science Foundation: Dalmatia – A Destination of European Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th Century; and Modern and Contemporary Artist Networks. Organisation and Communication Models of Collaborative Art Practices of the 20th and 21st Century. She is the editor-in-chief of the annual journal Peristil: Zbornik radova za povijest umjetnosti, published by the Croatian Society of Art Historians (since 2011). Bibliography


Organized by: Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory; Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana

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