Ivan Generalic (Croatian, 1914-1992). . Winter Landscape . 1979. Oil on glass. Signed lower right: I. Gen....

Description

Ivan Generalic (Croatian, 1914-1992)

Winter Landscape
1979
Oil on glass
Signed lower right: I. Gen. 1979
21-1/2 x 19-1/4 inches (54.6 x 48.9 cm)

Ivan Generalic's folk art work was at its peak when he completed Winter Landscape, a variation on his winter rural scenes. The renowned leader of the Hlebine Group, a tightly-knit band of artisans from the small town for which the movement was named, painted almost exclusively on glass, keeping alive a form of unforgiving and magical art that had been alive in his native Croatia for many years.

In the 1979 Winter Landscape, Generalic produces one of his masterpieces that exhibits the talent of the peasant painters who transformed their real life experiences and surroundings into fine art. The folk art style of the Hlebine region of Croatia became well known at its virtuoso level in Generalic's work. This winter scene depicts the curtain of snow, appearing larger as it reaches the foreground of the picture and shrouding, but essentially enhancing the tranquility of the country setting - still, yet in motion and alive. Generalic exhibits his mastery of color, again on a glass surface allowing for a magical, almost shimmering effect. The darker rust colors of the farmhouses and barns are lightened at the horizon but drift into the greenish black of the coming night, while shaded in the foreground at the bluff from which one views the tranquil scene he has created from life. Framed in a silver, beveled frame with glass and a 4 inch matte, the picture is in excellent condition.

Generalic's work was embraced by older as well as younger artists of the region. An exodus of artists from the village of Hlebine created a name for the folk art of the region and took hold in the art community. Generalic's and his followers' ideas of bringing real life into an art form was a sensation with exhibitions being held worldwide. He is revered for his long career both before and after the Second World War, a prize-winning leader in the art community until his death in 1992.

Provenance:
Acquired in 1979 in Brussels, Belgium.

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