oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, signed top right, in blue, ''MOTIKA (19)65''

Research information

The work is listed and reproduced in the catalog of the retrospective exhibition "Antun Motika: Retrospective 1927.-1974.", ed: Željko Grum, Moderna Galerija, Zagreb, 1975., under the title ''Three girls” on an unpaginated page, as a work from the collection of Dr. Jelka Anić from Zagreb.

PROVENANCE

From the early 1970s in the collection of Dr. Jelka Anić from Zagreb.

Antun Motika (Pula, 1902 - Zagreb, 1992) was a Croatian painter who experimented with many techniques throughout his life. His earliest talent was recognized and encouraged by Slovenian musicologist and painter Saša Šantel. Motika began studying sculpture in Zagreb in the class of Rudolf Valdec, but continued his studies in painting first in the class of Vladimir Becić, then in the class of Ljubo Babić. He worked as a drawing teacher in Mostar and until retirement at the School of Applied Arts in Zagreb. Throughout his life he used various techniques - from watercolors, gouache, tempera, oil, and even glass. He preceded his glass sculptures, in which he combined modeling skills and an obsession with refraction of light, with numerous sketches. His time in Paris (1931 and 1935), significantly influenced his art - translucency, fullness of light, simplicity of motifs, maximum color reduction and a nostalgic atmosphere. He portrayed subtle nudes, still life with an open window, lyrical interiors and landscapes with a keen eye for color and light. Highlighting his 1952 series of drawings titled "Archaic Surrealism", through which he advocated for the freedom of artistic expression. He also did illustrations for books, promotional leaflets, and medals and plaques. From 1982, he slowly began to withdraw from the public, he painted and exhibited less and less frequently. His signed and dated oil on canvas "Three Women in Blue" is recognizable for Motika's figural motifs which become almost abstract through his characteristic use of color and expressive brush strokes. The painting appears gentle and intimate due to the white and blue tones with slight accents of warmer colors. Smudged outlines and contours disappear, lending the scene a sense of movement and transience.

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