Ivan Meštrović: Difference between revisions

'''Ivan Meštrović''' ({{IPA-sh|hr|ǐʋan mɛ̂ʃtrɔʋit͡ɕ|langhrlang|Ivan_Mestrovic.ogg}}; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a [[Croatia]]n and [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern [[List of Croatian sculptors|Croatian sculptor]] and a leading artistic personality in contemporary [[Zagreb]]. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's Stone Workshop in [[Split, Croatia|Split]] and at the [[Academy of Fine Arts Vienna]], where he was formed under the influence of the [[Vienna Secession|Secession]]. He traveled throughout Europe and studied the works of ancient and [[Renaissance]] masters, especially [[Michelangelo]], and French sculptors [[Auguste Rodin]], [[Antoine Bourdelle]] and [[Aristide Maillol]]. He was the initiator of the national-romantic group Medulić (he advocated the creation of art of national features inspired by the heroic folk songs). During the First World War, he lived in emigration. After the war, he returned to Croatia and began a long and fruitful period of sculpture and pedagogical work. In 1942 he emigrated to Italy, in 1943 to Switzerland and in 1947 to the United States. He was a professor of sculpture at the [[Syracuse University]] and from 1955 at the [[University of Notre Dame]] in South Bend, Indiana.

During the [[April War]] in 1941 Meštrović was living in Split. After being warned by novelist and Independent State of Croatia (NDH) minister [[Mile Budak]] that the Croatian authorities could not guarantee his safety in Split, he moved to Zagreb in September 1941.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Prančević|first1=Dalibor|year=2008|title=Blagovanje Ivana Meštrovića u Splitu|journal=Etnološka istraživanja|volume=1|issue=12/13|pages=369–77|ref=Prancevic_2008}}</ref> Meštrović and painter [[Jozo Kljaković]] were arrested by the [[Ustaše]] in Zagreb on 7 November 1941, ostensibly due to the regime's fears that the two would emigrate. He eventually served three and a half months in the Savska Cesta prison. With help from archbishop [[Aloysius Stepinac]] and subsequently the [[Roman Curia|Vatican]] he was released, on condition that he travel to Venice to attend the [[Independent State of Croatia]] pavilion at the [[Venice Biennale]]. From there he relocated to Rome, where he stayed and worked at the [[Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome]]. He was sponsored here by Fra [[Dominik Mandić]], and during his time in the city was received by [[Pope Pius XII]]. In July 1943, Meštrović secured a visa to Switzerland through NDH diplomat [[Stijepo Perić]] and moved there. Not all of his family managed to escape — his first wife Ruža died in 1942 and many from her [[Jew]]ish family were murdered in [[the Holocaust]]. Later, his brother Petar was imprisoned for publicly advising Ivan not to return to the country.<ref>[[#Josipovic {{sfn|Josipović|2007|Josipovicpp=321}} (2007)]],Looking p.to 321</ref>create a Marshalmore favorable image of the newly established [[Josipsocialism|socialist Broz Titoregime]]'s government in [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], eventuallyMarshal [[Josip Broz Tito]]'s government invited Meštrović to return to the country after World War II ended, but he refused to do so. His decision was final after he received a letter from a high-ranking communist official warning him that he would be given a prominent position such as at a [[national academy]] and expected to display complete obedience to the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|Communist Party]].{{sfn|Josipović|2007|pp=321}} In 1946, [[Syracuse University]] offered him a professorship, and he moved to the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Madeleine |title=Explore the SU campus through these 6 historic statues |url=http://dailyorange.com/2016/04/explore-the-su-campus-through-these-6-historic-statues/ |access-date=22 March 2021 |work=[[The Daily Orange]] |date=24 April 2016}}</ref> He became the first artist of Croatian origin to exhibit his work at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York City]] in 1947.<ref name="euromuse"/>

At the end of January 1951 Meštrović joined the American campaign for the release of Archbishop Stepinac from prison.<ref>[[#Josipovic 2007{{sfn|Josipović|Josipovic (2007)]], p. |pp=322</ref>}}

[[File:Mestrovic Pieta.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pietà (Mestrovic)|''PietaPietà'']] (1942-46), [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame]], [[University of Notre Dame]]]]

After creating four clay sculptures to memorialize his children, Meštrović died in early 1962, aged 79, in [[South Bend, Indiana]]. His funeral mass was celebrated by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Šibenik|bishops of Šibenik]], Josip Arnerić, and [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Split-Makarska|bishop of Split-Makarska]] Frane Franić.<ref name="josipovic-sladana-2007">{{sfn|Josipović|2007|pp=329}} His remains were interred at a [[mausoleum]] in his childhood home of [[Otavice, Slađana;Croatia|Otavice]]. Communist Yugoslav authorities had originally promised the Meštrović family that his remains could lie in repose at the cathedrals in Zagreb and Split. Once his remains had arrived in Yugoslavia, however, the authorities reneged and did not allow this to take place. After communist officials interfered during his funeral, his son [[Mate Meštrović]] sharply criticized the level of religious freedom in the country.{{sfn|Josipović|2007|pp=331}}

* ''[[Svetozar Miletić]]'' in [[Novi Sad]] (1939)

* [[SniteRaclin Murphy Museum of Art]] at the [[University of Notre Dame]] has many of his works. He was artist-in-residence at Notre Dame and resided in South Bend, Indiana, until his death.

* {{cite journal |last1= Josipović|first1= Slađana|year= 2007|title= Politizacija pokopa Ivana Meštrovića|journal= Journal of Contemporary History |volume= 39|issue= 2|pages= 319–338|ref = Josipovic_2007}}