Between Art Nouveau and the Avant-Garde: the Personal (Ego) Network of Ivan Meštrović and the Map of Critical Reception of His Work During the 1910S
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Between Art Nouveau and the Avant-Garde: The Personal (Ego) Network of Ivan Meštrović and the Map of Critical Reception of His Work during the 1910s Prančević, Dalibor Source / Izvornik: Modern and Contemporary Artists' Networks. An Inquiry into Digital History of Art and Architecture, 2018, 38 - 62 Book chapter / Poglavlje u knjizi Publication status / Verzija rada: Published version / Objavljena verzija rada (izdavačev PDF) https://doi.org/10.31664/9789537875596.03 Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:254:591141 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-09-27 Repository / Repozitorij: PODEST - Institute of Art History Repository Between Art Nouveau and the Avant-Garde: The Personal (Ego) Network of Ivan Introductory notes: an However, Meštrović is an extremely in- Meštrović and the Map of Critical Reception of His Work during the 1910s interpretation between teresting phenomenon not only from the the traditional and the perspective of the visual art production, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31664/9789537875596.03 digital art history but also from the perspective of setting up a wide network of acquaintances, espe- One of the most significant Croatian sculp- cially with prominent individuals from the tors in the 20th century, Ivan Meštrović cultural and political arena. His political (1883–1962), affirmed himself as a sculptor engagement was most pronounced during in the public eye mostly “ex-territorially”, i.e. the First World War, but his inclination to outside of his homeland (Ill. 1).58 His starting establish politically affiliated contacts was point was Vienna, the city with a distinctive a constant in the decades to come, until cultural climate where he completed his the end of his life. This political engage- formal academic education (a three-year ment was of great importance to the art- degree course in sculpture and a two-year ist, as attested in his first book of memoirs, degree course in architecture). He was also first published abroad, in Buenos Aires in a member of the Association of Visual Artists 1961, and then, posthumously, in his home- Austria – Secession and a very active partic- land in 1969. We are, of course, referring ipant in the exhibitions held by the Associa- to the book Memories of Political People tion.59 In this text, his solo-exhibition at the and Events (Uspomene na političke ljude i of Vienna Secession in 1910 is taken as the događaje), where he recounted the events starting point of the period under scrutiny, spanning from his move to Belgrade in 1904 which extends to the end of the First World to his move to the United States in 1947.60 It War and the artist’s return to his homeland, is interesting to note that there are almost Dalibor Prančević enveloped in a brand new socio-political no protagonists from the art world featured climate, at the beginning of the 1920s. in this book; Meštrović mentioned them – Wars always provide an interesting context at least some of them – on other occa- for observing and analysing artists’ behav- sions. This book represents an outstanding iours and creative outputs, and the same contribution to political history, provided applies to Ivan Meštrović in the context to via autobiographical records and notes. the Balkan Wars and the First World War, as However, Ivan Meštrović never considered well as to the Second World War at a later himself to be a professional politician – he point in time. adamantly refused to be classified as such – and he used to point out that his vocation was exclusively that of an artist. 58 The most comprehensive study on the This text attempts to approach the interpre- life and art of Ivan Meštrović was written tation of Ivan Meštrović’s activities by using by Duško Kečkemet, who dedicated a signif- icant portion of his career to this artist entirely different tools than those usually and interpreting his works. See: Duško implemented in art historical practice. It Kečkemet, Život Ivana Meštrovića (1883 – will show how to implement a quantita- 1962 – 2002), vol. I and vol. II (Zagreb: tive analysis, more suitable – as hitherto Školska knjiga, 2009). perceived – to other disciplines, in the do- 59 About the period that Ivan Meštović main of art history research. The challenge spent in Vienna, see: Irena Kraševac, Ivan Meštrović i secesija: Beč – München – Prag 60 Ivan Meštrović, Uspomene na političke (Zagreb: Institut za povijest umjetnosti, ljude i događaje (Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, 38 39 Fundacija Ivana Meštrovića, 2002). 1969). is thus even greater because this kind of Ivan MEštrović’S personal research usually deals in texts and textual network. Network explications, that is, they are, in most re- analysis A fragment of gards, logocentric. Indeed, from the very linear storytelling beginning, the question arises of how to reconcile the reflexive nature and approach Right at the beginning, it should be noted to research in humanities – always verging that Ivan Meštrović’s social network was re- on ambiguity, fluid, floating – with the exact constructed herein based exclusively on his and measurable data which quantitative written correspondence, archived in Atelier analysis, as well as the new technology, Meštrović in Zagreb (Fig. 1). necessitate. Actually, how do we even in- This is a special archival fund, stored as troduce quantitative analysis – and digital the property of Mate Meštrović.62 A total tools – into the field of art history, mostly of 606 letters have been processed, with a perceived as being reflexive? Is there an focus on the period from 1910 to 1920. The antagonistic relationship between “tradi- basic information about the letters, as well tional” and “digital” art history? as content excerpts, have been entered Perhaps the answer to this and similar ques- into the digital database Croatian Artists tions can be found in an optimistic note in Networks Information System (CAN_IS) that the article “Debating Digital Art History”, stems from an intensive interdisciplinary where Anna Bentkowska-Kafel analyses this work on a five-year research project Mod- specific relationship.61 Namely, the author ern and Contemporary Artist Networks, Art claims that the attribute digital has a mere Groups and Art Associations: Organisation provisional and temporary character, and and Communication Models of Artist Col- that it will become completely irrelevant laborative Practices in the 20th and 21st and without any precise demarcation in the Century. Furthermore, the visual depiction near future. So, only the umbrella term of of Meštrović’s social network was created art history will remain, of course, with all the via software visualization tools which were changes and turns in the discipline ushered integrated into the database. in by technological advancements and the As to be expected, this type of a reconstruc- implementation of new techniques. Nobody tion is not ideal. Namely, a large portion will even think in terms of an antagonistic of the epistolary records lack a specified relationship but about the critical moment timeframe that cannot be inferred from its which will have marked the redefining point contents, so this analysis should not be tak- of transition, that is, the implementation en at face value. However, it certainly does of new methods in research defined by a pave the way for future interpretations and temporal format and technological con- will be complemented by each subsequent text. We will attempt to demonstrate such insight into the personal and official cor- a coexistence – or a hybrid – of traditional respondence of Ivan Meštrović, stored in and digital art history methods by interpret- institutional or private archives. Nonetheless, ing Ivan Meštrović’s oeuvre and worldviews, that is, his global critical reception. 62 Meštrović’s Correspondence, Meštrović Atelier Archives, Archived letters (here- 61 Anna Bentkowska-Kafel, “Debating inafter: AAM, Zg, Pup). The letters are Ill. 1 Digital Art History,” International Journal in the property of Mate Meštrović who was Ivan and Ruža Meštrović in the company of his younger sister Danica (fare left) for Digital Art History, no. 1 (2015), 50– kind enough to grant his permission to us (Family Archive Kaštelančić, Klein, Kundi, courtesy of Sabina Kaštelančić) 40 41 6 4. http s://d oi.org /10.11588/d a h.2015.1.2163 4 to use and inspect them. Bruno Barilli Ivo Ćipiko Izložba Meštrović-Rački u Zagrebu 1910. Cecil Smith Veljko Petrović Hugo Ehrlich Lorenzo Viani Josip Kosor Andrija Milčinović Aleksandar Amfiteatrov Kosta Strajnić Hugo von Habermann Ljubo Leontić Victoria lady Sackville-West Ljubo Karaman Karl Wittgenstein Claude Phillips Abdullah Yusuf Ali Julije Gazzari Ivo Vojnović Hilda Gertrude Cowham Alvin Langdon Coburn Giovanni Cena Prvislav Grisogono Ferruccio Ferrazzi Ljubomir Davidović Christian Brinton Nadežda Petrović Norah Dacre Fox Lukijan Bogdanović Guglielmo Pizzirani Viktor Kovačić Isidor Bajić Lazar Drljača Mateja Mata Bošković Miroslav Spalajković Giovanni Rosadi Nikola Bešević Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev Milenko Vesnić Pascual Baburizza Soletić Paul George Konody Josip Smodlaka Arturo Lancellotti Milena Barilli-Pavlović Vladimir Becić Ermenegildo Anglada Camarasa Branko Gavella Adela Milčinović Mate Meštrović Antonín Dolenský Catherine D. Groth Henry Wickham Steed Marino Tartaglia Mary Hunter Ivo Giulli Rihard Jakopič Marko Murat Emanuel Vidović Vlaho Bukovac Ivan Meštrović Srđan Tucić Četvrta jugoslavenska umjetnička izložba u Beogradu 1912. Marija (Mara) Rosandić Nikola Bodrožić Tomislav