Ivan Generalić was a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n naïve art

Naïve art

Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...

 painter.

Generalić was born in Hlebine

Hlebine

Hlebine is a municipality in Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. It consists of two villages, Hlebine and Gabajeva Greda.-Population:Its population is earns its living primarily from agricultural production. The population has been decreasing continuously for a number of years...

 near Koprivnica

Koprivnica

Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:...

. In elementary school, painting lessons were his greatest joy and as a child he used to earn money. He mostly drew with pencil on paper bags and some of these sketches were seen by Krsto Hegedušić

Krsto Hegedušic

Krsto Hegedušić was a Croatian painter, illustrator and theater designer. His most famous paintings depict the harsh life of the Croatian peasantry in the manner of naive art...

, at the time (1930) just a student of the art academy, later a professor. Hegedušić was impressed with Generalić's work and organized Generalić's first public art exhibition, held in 1931 in the Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 Art pavilion. Positive critiques and contacts at the time led to a new era of not only Croatian, but also world art as well.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, in 1945 he became a member of ULUH (society of Croatian artists). In 1953 he exhibited in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where he lived and painted for a few months. In 1959 he painted The Deer Wedding - his most valuable work, according to followers of the Croatian naïve art world.

Generalić has a large number of followers, beside his colleagues who form the first generation - Franjo Mraz

Franjo Mraz

Franjo Mraz was a notable Croatian artist. Together with Ivan Generalić and Mirko Virius, he is considered a founder of Croatian naive art. His most famous paintings are "Oranje" and "Zima" ....

 and Mirko Virius

Mirko Virius

Mirko Virius was a Croatian naive painter. He was one of the three most prominent members of the first generation of the Hlebine School....

. His second generation followers are Franjo Filipović, Dragan Gaži

Dragan Gaži

Dragan Gaži was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb.-References:...

, Josip Generalić

Josip Generalić

Josip Generalić was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb.-References:...

, Ivan Večenaj.

Quotes

He was born by the land. He possesses its sweetness, wisdom and charm, and he needs no other guides.

External links

• www.generalic.com
• http://thearthistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2011/04/ivan-generalic.html
• Artnet.com