Kristian Kreković

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Kristian Kreković (born February 28, 1901 in Koprivna near Tuzla , Austria-Hungary ; † November 21, 1985 in Palma de Mallorca , Spain ) was a Yugoslav - Peruvian painter of the 20th century. He became known for pictures that depict the Inca culture of the past and present. He also did portrait painting and mainly focused on Croatian and Spanish culture.

Life

Kristian Kreković was born in 1901 as the son of the forest and hunting master at the Viennese court in Koprivna in Bosnia, which was then occupied by Austria-Hungary . He has been interested in painting since childhood, studied at the Vienna Academy and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris . In 1925 he exhibited for the first time in the Salon of French Artists. In 1928, at the "International Art Exhibition" in Bordeaux , he received the gold medal and certificate of honor. He married the eloquent French Sina, daughter of a well-known surgeon . He signed his works as "pintor croata" or as "pintor croata peruano".

An exhibition by the Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tallo in the Trocadero Museum in Paris impressed him so much that he traveled to Peru in 1930 . In the Andes he came into contact with the descendants of the Incas . He also completed his knowledge of pre-Columbian civilization in libraries. He then dedicated an entire cycle of paintings to this Inca culture. But he also addressed contemporary Peru. In 1939, during a bombing raid on Paris, most of his earlier pictures were lost. For the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945) he developed designs for a monumental redesign of the central square of Zagreb , Jelačić Square (including a design for a gigantic "Croatian Hall of Fame"). His cycle of paintings with portraits of Croatian kings and people from Croatian and Bosnian history (143 in total) were lost (1941 in Belgrade, during an air raid?) And are only preserved as black and white photos.

His works were purchased in 1950 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art , Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts (since 1968 Everson Museum of Fine Arts) and the New York Museum of the American Indians (now in the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC ). In 1955 he became a Peruvian citizen. From 1955 to 1958 his works were shown under the title "Past and Present of Legendary Peru" in the United States, Spain and Austria, with the government of Peru as the patron. His works are completely drawn through. The sweep of his brush and the use of almost pure colors gave the pictures an impressionistic touch. The Peruvian city of Cusco , the former capital of the Inca, awarded him honorary citizenship and a gold medal in 1966.

As a respected portrait painter he painted a. a. Queen Mary of England , King Gustav of Sweden , Alexander of Yugoslavia , King Juan Carlos of Spain and Mahatma Gandhi , with whom he was friends. After 1945 he became a staunch humanist and advocate of world peace, which he also addressed in many pictures. In 1975 he presented it to Pope Paul VI. two paintings entitled "Virgin of Peace".

In 1946 he left Yugoslavia. He lived on Mallorca from 1960 until his death in 1985 in Palma . During this time he painted pictures that reflect Spanish culture and especially that of the Balearic Islands . His pictures are u. a. on display in the Kreković Museum in Palma, which he founded.

Sources and literature

personal data
SURNAME Kreković, Kristian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Yugoslav-Peruvian painter of the 20th century
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Koprivna near Tuzla , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1985
Place of death Palma de Mallorca , Spain