(Pelješac 1859-1920 Sarajevo)
A Landscape near Pelješac on the Dalmatian Adriatic Coast, signed (in ligature) MC Medovic, oil on board, 24 x 33 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Vienna.

A certificate issued by Prof. Dajana Vlaisavljevic, Zagreb, 24 March 2023 is available upon request.

Mato Medović, better known as Celestin Mato Medović is considered to be the founder of modern Croatian painting along with Vlaho Bukovac. He came from a humble background and grew up in the village of Kuna on the Peljesac peninsula on the Dalmatian Adriatic coast. His talent was recognised early on, and he entered the Franciscan order as a boy in 1868. He spent his first years in the Franciscan monastery of Kuna, consecrated to Our Lady of Loreto and known as “Delorita”, before the Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik became his home. There he took his religious vows, was ordained priest and took the name “Celestin”. Thanks to the support of the order, Medović was able to begin his artistic training at the Collegio di Sant’ Isidoro in Rome from 1880. This was followed by a period of study in Florence before he finally attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1888 to 1893. He settled in Zagreb from 1895 after leaving the Franciscan Order and a short stay in Dubrovnik. He lived and worked in Zagreb until 1907, when he finally returned to his home village, where he remained artistically active until the end of his life, with the exception of a two-year stay in Vienna (1912-1914).

Medović turned away from traditional history and sacred painting following his time in Zagreb and his intensive exchange with Vlaho Bukovac. He then devoted his works to the depiction of light with rich colour. His colour-filled landscape views were mostly created during his late period in Pelješac and were influenced by plein-air painting. The present lot belongs to this “Pelješac period”. The view of the Dalmatian Adriatic coast is characterised by warm, bright light, and strong colours. The balanced composition allows the viewer’s gaze to wander into the distance.