Ivan Rendić was a Croatian

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 sculptor.

He began sculpting early on in life, thanks to the stoneworking tradition of the island of Brač

Brac

Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...

, where he was raised. He finished arts school in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 in 1871 and afterwards became a part of the Fioretine sculpting atelier. Afterwards he mostly lived and worked in Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

 where he made the bulk of his works. In 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 ...

, most of his works were displayed in 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...

 and Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

.

He was the first famous and educated Croatian sculptor. He worked in the Realist style with elements of naturalism, especially in finer details. Rendić made around 200 statues. His most famous works were public monuments raised in honour of famous Croats which remain over all parts of Croatia. For example, his statues of Andrea Schiavone

Andrea Schiavone

Andrea Meldolla , also known as Andrea Schiavone or Andrea Lo Schiavone was an Italian Renaissance painter and etcher, born in present-day Croatia, active mainly in the city of Venice.-Biography:...

, Giulio Clovio, Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan was a Croatian baroque poet, nobleman and politician in the 17th century. He is remembered primarily for his involvement in the failed Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy.-Early life and poetry:...

, Ivan Gundulić

Ivan Gundulic

Ivan Franov Gundulić is the most celebrated Croatian Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa. His work embodies central characteristics of Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation: religious fervor, insistence on "vanity of this world" and zeal in opposition to "infidels." Gundulić's major...

, Nikola Jurišić

Nikola Jurišic

Baron Nikola Jurišić was a Croatian nobleman, soldier, and diplomat, who led the armies of the territory of the Croatian Krajina in defense against the invasion of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman I, advancing towards Vienna.After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Jurisic's vote helped Ferdinand of...

 and August Šenoa

August Šenoa

August Šenoa was a Croatian novelist, critic, editor, poet, and dramatist....

 at Zrinjevac park in Zagreb, as well as of Petar Preradović

Petar Preradovic

Petar Preradović was a Croatian poet of Serb origin.- Biography :Preradović was born in the village of Grabrovnica , which was part of the Austrian Military Frontier, in Serbian Orthodox family of Jovan Preradović and Pelagija Preradović. He spent childhood in Grubišno Polje, were his father was...

, Andrija Kačić Miošić

Andrija Kacic Miošic

Andrija Kačić Miošić was a Croatian poet and Franciscan monk.Born in Brist near Makarska, he became a Franciscan monk. He was educated in Zaostrog monastery and Buda...

 also in Zagreb, and of Ljudevit Gaj

Ljudevit Gaj

Ljudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...

 in Krapina

Krapina

Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 and a total municipality population of 12,479...

.

From 1921 he lived in Supetar

Supetar

Supetar is a town on the northern side of the Dalmatian island of Brač,in the Splitsko-Dalmatiska County, in Croatia. It became the island's official centre in 1827...

, where he attempted in vain to form a school of arts. He finished his life in poverty.

Because of its support to Croatian renaissance movement

Illyrian movement

The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...

 and unification of Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

 with the rest of 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 ...

, he was the target of attacks of Italianists and Italian expansionists, especially during his work in Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

.