Slava Raškaj
Encyclopedia
Slava Raškaj was a painter
considered to be the greatest Croatian watercolorist
of the late 19th and early 20th century. Deaf since birth, Raškaj was schooled in Vienna
and Zagreb
, where her mentor was the Croatian painter Bela Čikoš Sesija
. In the 1890s her works were exhibited around Europe, including at the 1900 Expo
in Paris
. In her twenties Raškaj was diagnosed with acute depression and was institutionalised for the last three years of her life before dying in 1906 from tuberculosis in Zagreb.
The value of her work was largely overlooked by art historians in the following decades, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s interest in her work was revived. A Croatian film about her controversial relationship with Sesija titled 100 Minutes of Glory
directed by Dalibor Matanić
was released in 2004, and a grand retrospective exhibition featuring 185 of her works opened at the Klovićevi dvori
art gallery in Zagreb between May and August 2008.
In December 2000 the Croatian National Bank
issued a silver commemorative coin depicting Slava Raškaj, in their Znamenite Hrvatice (Famous Croatian Women) series, along with children's writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić
and the 17th-century noblewoman Katarina Zrinska
.
family (her mother Olga ran the local post office which was at the time a prestigious administrative position) in the town of Ozalj
in present-day Croatia
(at the time in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
, a subdivision within Austria-Hungary
). Olga liked painting in her free time and she passed her love for arts very early on to both her daughters Slava and Paula (Paula later worked as a schoolteacher in Orahovica
and also continued to paint casually in adulthood).
When she was eight Slava was sent to Vienna
to enroll at a school for deaf people where she first learned to draw. Her drawings from that period mainly depict casts of classical sculptures drawn in pencil or ink (two of these drawings survived and are kept on display at the Croatian School Museum at Marshal Tito Square
in Zagreb
). During her time in Vienna she also learned German and French and in later years moved on to watercolor
and gouache
techniques before returning to Ozalj in 1893.
Upon her return, the local schoolteacher Ivan Muha-Otoić noticed her artistic talent and urged her parents to send her to Zagreb for further art instructions at the renowned painter Vlaho Bukovac
's atelier in 1895 (as Bukovac was a friend of Muha-Otoić). Once in Zagreb, Bukovac refused to help her but then Bela Čikoš Sesija
took her in and began instructing her in his own studio in 1896. She spent the next few years working with Sesija - she lived at what was then the State Institute for Deaf-mute Children (Zemaljski zavod za odgoj gluhonijeme djece) on Ilica Street
, and she used a local morgue
as her studio (in the meantime her former teacher from Ozalj Ivan Muha-Otoić became director of the Institute in 1895).
Raškaj's repertoire was peculiar at the time - she painted somewhat macabre paintings of still life
, watercolors with unusual objects such as a starfish, a silver jewelry chest, and even more interesting, pairs of objects such as a red rose
and an owl
, or a lobster
and a fan
.
In the late 1890s she started painting en plein air
, depicting outdoor scenes from the Zagreb Botanical Garden, Maksimir Park
and other parks in the city, featuring somewhat lighter tones and colors. In 1899 she returned to her hometown of Ozalj and continued to paint outdoors, which was also unusual at the time. Her most valuable paintings were all created in the 1890s, including works such as Self-portrait, Spring in Ozalj, The Old Mill and others. Her works were first publicly exhibited at the Art Pavilion in Zagreb soon after it opened in 1898, where six of her watercolors were presented along with the works of renowned painters such as Menci Klement Crnčić and Vlaho Bukovac. Her paintings were also exhibited in Saint Petersburg
, in Moscow
and at the Exposition Universelle
in Paris
in 1900, where five of her paintings were shown.
In 1900 first symptoms of depression began to appear. She was hospitalised but soon after that she was released for home care
. However, her condition deteriorated further and Slava was eventually institutionalised at a psychiatric hospital
in Stenjevec
in 1903. She completely stopped painting in her last years, and died on 29 March 1906 from tuberculosis
.
Otoić helped her to open her own atelier. It was a small, white painted room, once a mortuary. Her first aquarel was completed there, and probably today's most famous self-portrait
from the year 1898. In 1899, Raškaj spent at home in Ozalj, wandering outdoors, drawing the landscapes, perfecting her favoured medium technique, enriching them with her unique and distinguished style and sensitivity.
Her works have been exhibited since 1898 in art
pavilions of Zagreb, Moscow
and Saint Petersburg
. It was the prolific part of her career when most of the valuable works were done, including:
Soon, the first symptoms of the disease started to show up—loneliness, alienation, need for privacy and nature
. Old abandoned mill
s, depth of the canyon
of Kupa
river, ruins started to be the focus of her mind.
In 1902, due to chronic depression
, aggression and other psychological symptoms she was institutionalised. She died March 29, 1906.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
considered to be the greatest Croatian watercolorist
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
of the late 19th and early 20th century. Deaf since birth, Raškaj was schooled in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and 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...
, where her mentor was the Croatian painter Bela Čikoš Sesija
Bela Cikoš Sesija
Bela Čikoš Sesija ; was a Croatian painter of historical and allegorical scenes at the turn of the 20th century...
. In the 1890s her works were exhibited around Europe, including at the 1900 Expo
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
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...
. In her twenties Raškaj was diagnosed with acute depression and was institutionalised for the last three years of her life before dying in 1906 from tuberculosis in Zagreb.
The value of her work was largely overlooked by art historians in the following decades, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s interest in her work was revived. A Croatian film about her controversial relationship with Sesija titled 100 Minutes of Glory
100 Minutes of Glory
100 Minutes of Glory is a Croatian drama film directed by Dalibor Matanic. It was released in 2004.-Cast:* Sanja Vejnović - Slava Raškaj* Miki Manojlović - Bela Čikoš Sesija* Vili Matula - Rapacki* Nataša Lušetić - Justina...
directed by Dalibor Matanić
Dalibor Matanic
Dalibor Matanić is an acclaimed Croatian screenwriter and film director.His most well-known film is the 2002 feature Fine Dead Girls which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sochi film festival.-Filmography:...
was released in 2004, and a grand retrospective exhibition featuring 185 of her works opened at the Klovićevi dvori
Klovicevi dvori
Klovićevi dvori is an art gallery in Zagreb, Croatia named after the Croatian painter Juraj Julije Klović. It is located in the historic Gornji Grad neighborhood. Two smaller galleries are located within the building, the Galerija Gradec and Kula Lotrščak. The gallery was opened in 1984.- External...
art gallery in Zagreb between May and August 2008.
In December 2000 the Croatian National Bank
Croatian National Bank
The Croatian National Bank is the central bank of the Republic of Croatia.HNB was established by the Constitution of Croatia which was passed by the Croatian Parliament on 21 December 1990. Its main responsibilities are maintaining the stability of the national currency, the kuna, and ensuring...
issued a silver commemorative coin depicting Slava Raškaj, in their Znamenite Hrvatice (Famous Croatian Women) series, along with children's writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić
Ivana Brlic-Mažuranic
Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić was a Croatian writer. Within her native land, as well as internationally, she has been praised as the best Croatian writer for children.-Life:She was born on April 18, 1874 in Ogulin into a well-known Croatian family of Mažuranić...
and the 17th-century noblewoman Katarina Zrinska
Katarina Zrinska
Countess Ana Katarina Zrinska was a Croatian noblewoman, born into the House of Frankopan noble family. She married Count Petar Zrinski of the House of Zrinski in 1641 and later became known as Katarina Zrinska. She is remembered in Croatia as a patron of the arts, a writer and patriot...
.
Biography
Raškaj was born as Friderika Slavomira Olga Raškaj on 2 January 1877 into a middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
family (her mother Olga ran the local post office which was at the time a prestigious administrative position) in the town of Ozalj
Ozalj
Ozalj is a town in central Croatia, located north of Karlovac and southwest of Jastrebarsko, on the Kupa river. It is close to Žumberak in the north and the border with Slovenia in the northwest, with Metlika being the closest Slovenian town.-Population:...
in present-day 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 ...
(at the time in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia or Croatia Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the dual Austro-Hungarian state, being within the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen or Transleithania...
, a subdivision within Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
). Olga liked painting in her free time and she passed her love for arts very early on to both her daughters Slava and Paula (Paula later worked as a schoolteacher in Orahovica
Orahovica
Orahovica is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of the mountain Papuk and positioned on the state road D2 Varaždin-Koprivnica-Našice-Osijek.-Economy:...
and also continued to paint casually in adulthood).
When she was eight Slava was sent to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to enroll at a school for deaf people where she first learned to draw. Her drawings from that period mainly depict casts of classical sculptures drawn in pencil or ink (two of these drawings survived and are kept on display at the Croatian School Museum at Marshal Tito Square
Marshal Tito Square
Marshal Tito Square is one of the biggest squares in Zagreb, Croatia. The square is located in Lower Town, with the Croatian National Theatre building at its centre...
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...
). During her time in Vienna she also learned German and French and in later years moved on to watercolor
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
and gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
techniques before returning to Ozalj in 1893.
Upon her return, the local schoolteacher Ivan Muha-Otoić noticed her artistic talent and urged her parents to send her to Zagreb for further art instructions at the renowned painter Vlaho Bukovac
Vlaho Bukovac
Vlaho Bukovac was a Croatian painter.-Life:- Early life :Bukovac was born Biagio Faggioni in the town of Cavtat south of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia...
's atelier in 1895 (as Bukovac was a friend of Muha-Otoić). Once in Zagreb, Bukovac refused to help her but then Bela Čikoš Sesija
Bela Cikoš Sesija
Bela Čikoš Sesija ; was a Croatian painter of historical and allegorical scenes at the turn of the 20th century...
took her in and began instructing her in his own studio in 1896. She spent the next few years working with Sesija - she lived at what was then the State Institute for Deaf-mute Children (Zemaljski zavod za odgoj gluhonijeme djece) on Ilica Street
Ilica (street)
Ilica street is one of the longest streets in Zagreb and considered to be the most expensive residential street in the city. The busy street is home to many shops and cultural sites and spans the entire western half of the city, from the Ban Jelačić Square in the city centre up to the Črnomerec...
, and she used a local morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
as her studio (in the meantime her former teacher from Ozalj Ivan Muha-Otoić became director of the Institute in 1895).
Raškaj's repertoire was peculiar at the time - she painted somewhat macabre paintings of still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
, watercolors with unusual objects such as a starfish, a silver jewelry chest, and even more interesting, pairs of objects such as a red rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
and an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, or a lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
and a fan
Fan (implement)
A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan...
.
In the late 1890s she started painting en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
, depicting outdoor scenes from the Zagreb Botanical Garden, Maksimir Park
Maksimir Park
Maksimir Park is Zagreb's oldest public park. It forms part of the city's cultural heritage and is a habitat for many different plant and animal species.-History:...
and other parks in the city, featuring somewhat lighter tones and colors. In 1899 she returned to her hometown of Ozalj and continued to paint outdoors, which was also unusual at the time. Her most valuable paintings were all created in the 1890s, including works such as Self-portrait, Spring in Ozalj, The Old Mill and others. Her works were first publicly exhibited at the Art Pavilion in Zagreb soon after it opened in 1898, where six of her watercolors were presented along with the works of renowned painters such as Menci Klement Crnčić and Vlaho Bukovac. Her paintings were also exhibited in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and at the Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
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...
in 1900, where five of her paintings were shown.
In 1900 first symptoms of depression began to appear. She was hospitalised but soon after that she was released for home care
Home care
Home Care, , is health care or supportive care provided in the patient's home by healthcare professionals Home Care, (also referred to as domiciliary care or social care), is health care or supportive care provided in the patient's home by healthcare professionals Home Care, (also referred to as...
. However, her condition deteriorated further and Slava was eventually institutionalised at a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in Stenjevec
Stenjevec
Stenjevec is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia. It is located in the western part of the city and has 41,257 inhabitants .-List of neighborhoods in Stenjevec:* Jankomir* Malešnica* "Matija Gubec"* Stenjevec* Špansko* Vrapče-jug...
in 1903. She completely stopped painting in her last years, and died on 29 March 1906 from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Independent artist
Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
from the year 1898. In 1899, Raškaj spent at home in Ozalj, wandering outdoors, drawing the landscapes, perfecting her favoured medium technique, enriching them with her unique and distinguished style and sensitivity.
Her works have been exhibited since 1898 in art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
pavilions of Zagreb, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. It was the prolific part of her career when most of the valuable works were done, including:
- “Stablo u snijegu” (Tree in the snow)
- “Rano proljeće” (Early spring)
- “Proljeće u Ozlju” (Spring in Ozalj)
- “Zimski pejsaž” (Winter landscape)
- “Lopoči” (Water lilliesNymphaeaceaeNymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
)
Soon, the first symptoms of the disease started to show up—loneliness, alienation, need for privacy and nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. Old abandoned mill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s, depth of the canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
of Kupa
Kupa
Kupa may refer to:*Kupa River, a river in Croatia and Slovenia*Kupa River , a river in Lithuania*Kupa River in Siberia, see Kuta River*Kupa Synagogue, a synagogue in Krakow*Kupa, Hungary, a village in Northern Hungary...
river, ruins started to be the focus of her mind.
In 1902, due to chronic depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, aggression and other psychological symptoms she was institutionalised. She died March 29, 1906.
External links
- Slava Raškaj's biography published in May 2008 in the NacionalNacional (weekly)Nacional is a Croatian weekly newsmagazine published in Zagreb.-History:Nacional was started in 1995 by Denis Kuljiš, Ivo Pukanić and other journalists dissatisfied with the editorial policies of Croatian weekly newspaper Globus. Both publications were hostile to the ruling HDZ government...
weekly - Slava Raškaj short bio at the Croatian 19th century women painters collection
- Article about the 2008 retrospective at the Klovićevi dvoriKlovicevi dvoriKlovićevi dvori is an art gallery in Zagreb, Croatia named after the Croatian painter Juraj Julije Klović. It is located in the historic Gornji Grad neighborhood. Two smaller galleries are located within the building, the Galerija Gradec and Kula Lotrščak. The gallery was opened in 1984.- External...
gallery website