Maksimilijan Vanka
Encyclopedia
Maksimilijan Vanka also known as Maxo Vanka, was a Croatia
n-American
artist.
Maxo Vanka was born in Croatia
in 1889. It is believed that he may have been the illegitimate child of Habsburg
nobility. He was sent to live with peasants, but at the age of eight was discovered by his maternal grandfather and sent to live in a castle. He studied art in Zagreb
, Croatia and Brussels
, Belgium. During World War I
he served with the Belgian Red Cross because he was a pacifist and would not serve in the regular army.
He taught art in Zagreb
, but went to America in the 1930s with his wife Margaret Stetten Vanka and his young daughter Peggy.
His most important works are his Millvale Murals in the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, the first Croatian Catholic parish in the United States, in Millvale
, Pennsylvania
, a borough
of the city of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County
. They depict Christ and Mary in images of war and offer social commentary on world events like fascism
, war
, and poverty
. View the murals online: The Murals of Maxo Vanka.
He is memorialized in a play called "Gift to America", written in 1981 by Carnegie Mellon University
Professor David P. Demarest
.
This one hour play tells the story of how Vanka was commissioned by the church to paint the murals by Father Albert Zagar, the church pastor, and it provides insight into each of the murals' meanings as expressed by the artist. The murals, there are 20 in all, cover the walls and ceiling of the church. They were painted in two sessions, one in 1939 and the other in 1941. The differences in the murals before and after the war are quite stark and strikingly vivid.
Murals painted before the war depict Croatian immigrants coming to America to seek a better life, grateful to have escaped the slaughter taking place in their homeland. Their strong sense of pride in their heritage comes through and blends well with their entrance into the Pittsburgh labor-intensive industry of the time. This was Vanka's [sic]"Mothers offer up their sons for labor" theme, a tribute to all those who worked diligently in the mills and mines in and around Pittsburgh. One mural depicts the fire and collapse of one of the coal burning mills and as a Croatian mother cradles her dead son, her other three sons rush into the mill to save their fellow workers. The mother ends up losing all four of her sons, sacrificed for the good of others.
Murals painted after the war are much more striking and vivid, with very dark and haunting themes. This was Vanka's [sic] "Mothers offer up their sons for war" theme. He was a committed pacifist and the intensity of his beliefs are depicted clearly in these murals. One mural is of the Virgin Mary coming between two warring soldiers. Another depicts two soldiers battling each other, yet this time it is Jesus who attempts to intercede and one of the soldiers accidentally thrusts his bayonet into Jesus' heart, causing a look of such utter surprise and pain on Jesus' face. Another mural depicts a woman, dressed in black, with a gas mask over her face, depicting the horrors of war and the evilness of those who would send men into war. To Vanka, there were no justifiable reasons for war.
The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, founded in 1991 with the mission to preserve and maintain the murals, is leading a campaign to clean, restore and light the murals. For more information about the Campaign and/or to make a gift to save these unique art treasures: Campaign to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka. SPMMMV also manages a docent program. Docent-led tours are available at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00pm – 4:00 pm. Special tour requests may be accommodated outside of these hours. For more information about the tours: Visit the Murals.
He taught art at a community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
at the end of his life.
He died swimming off the coast of Puerto Vallarta
in 1963.
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-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist.
Maxo Vanka was born 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 ...
in 1889. It is believed that he may have been the illegitimate child of Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
nobility. He was sent to live with peasants, but at the age of eight was discovered by his maternal grandfather and sent to live in a castle. He studied art 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...
, Croatia and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served with the Belgian Red Cross because he was a pacifist and would not serve in the regular army.
He taught art 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...
, but went to America in the 1930s with his wife Margaret Stetten Vanka and his young daughter Peggy.
His most important works are his Millvale Murals in the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, the first Croatian Catholic parish in the United States, in Millvale
Millvale, Pennsylvania
Millvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny River, opposite Pittsburgh. In the past, it had iron manufactures, saw works, stone works, lumber mills, breweries, etc. In 1900, the number of people residing here totaled 6,736; in 1910, 7,861; and in 1940, 7,811...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, a borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of the city of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...
. They depict Christ and Mary in images of war and offer social commentary on world events like fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, and poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. View the murals online: The Murals of Maxo Vanka.
He is memorialized in a play called "Gift to America", written in 1981 by Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
Professor David P. Demarest
David P. Demarest
David P. Demarest was an American academic and writer best known for his work on organized labor, social geography, and US working-class literature....
.
This one hour play tells the story of how Vanka was commissioned by the church to paint the murals by Father Albert Zagar, the church pastor, and it provides insight into each of the murals' meanings as expressed by the artist. The murals, there are 20 in all, cover the walls and ceiling of the church. They were painted in two sessions, one in 1939 and the other in 1941. The differences in the murals before and after the war are quite stark and strikingly vivid.
Murals painted before the war depict Croatian immigrants coming to America to seek a better life, grateful to have escaped the slaughter taking place in their homeland. Their strong sense of pride in their heritage comes through and blends well with their entrance into the Pittsburgh labor-intensive industry of the time. This was Vanka's [sic]"Mothers offer up their sons for labor" theme, a tribute to all those who worked diligently in the mills and mines in and around Pittsburgh. One mural depicts the fire and collapse of one of the coal burning mills and as a Croatian mother cradles her dead son, her other three sons rush into the mill to save their fellow workers. The mother ends up losing all four of her sons, sacrificed for the good of others.
Murals painted after the war are much more striking and vivid, with very dark and haunting themes. This was Vanka's [sic] "Mothers offer up their sons for war" theme. He was a committed pacifist and the intensity of his beliefs are depicted clearly in these murals. One mural is of the Virgin Mary coming between two warring soldiers. Another depicts two soldiers battling each other, yet this time it is Jesus who attempts to intercede and one of the soldiers accidentally thrusts his bayonet into Jesus' heart, causing a look of such utter surprise and pain on Jesus' face. Another mural depicts a woman, dressed in black, with a gas mask over her face, depicting the horrors of war and the evilness of those who would send men into war. To Vanka, there were no justifiable reasons for war.
The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, founded in 1991 with the mission to preserve and maintain the murals, is leading a campaign to clean, restore and light the murals. For more information about the Campaign and/or to make a gift to save these unique art treasures: Campaign to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka. SPMMMV also manages a docent program. Docent-led tours are available at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00pm – 4:00 pm. Special tour requests may be accommodated outside of these hours. For more information about the tours: Visit the Murals.
He taught art at a community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
at the end of his life.
He died swimming off the coast of Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
in 1963.
External links
- Rome Away from Home: Masterpiece in Pennsylvania by Elizabeth Lev
- Off the Wall: The Murals of St. Nicholas -- Pittsburgh Quarterly
- The Murals of Maxo Vanka
- Pittsburgh Center for the Arts-Paintings and Works on Paper, Maxo Vanka
- The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
- Murals for the Ages -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 4/25/2010
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette multi-media view of the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
- The Gift of Sympathy: the Art of Maxo Vanka
- St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale