Ferdo Kovačević. Landscape. Oil on canvas.

Description

Kovačević, Ferdo, Croatian painter (Zagreb, 10. IV. 1870 – Zagreb, 1. IX. 1927). After graduating from the Craft School in Zagreb, he studied painting at the Art and Craft School in Vienna. He participated in decorating the building of the then Department of Worship and Teaching (Opatička 10) and the National and University Library in Zagreb. He was a professor in Zagreb at the Trade School (1905–17) and the Academy (1917–27). One of the founders of the Society of Croatian Artists. In the circle of Croatian modernity, along with M. Cl. Crnčića, was a "real" landscape painter, subtle lyricist and interpreter of the melancholic Sava landscape. In his early works, he leaned towards symbolism, often painting sunsets, forests and cemeteries (Rock's cemetery, 1897), and under the influence of V. Bukovac, he executed such paintings in a plein air way, a late form of impressionism; he was particularly attracted by the reflections in the water and the changes in the atmosphere. From 1905 he focused entirely on river landscapes (Požega cycle, 1908–12), and from 1915 he painted landscapes with snow (Winter landscape, Gloomy winter day). The most valuable achievements of his mature phase are the deep expanses of the Posavina region and the series of willows in all seasons and diverse lighting. (On the eve, Whirlwind, Before the storm, Willows).