Zoran Mušič (1909–2005)

Zoran Mušič (Bukovica, 1909 – Venice, 2005) is the first modernist Slovenian painter to have found recognition in the West.

Master of painting, graphic arts and drawing, he spent most of his adult life between Venice and Paris. He painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, Dalmatian donkeys and horses, trees, cityscapes of Venice, double portraits of himself and his wife Ida, and poignant self-portraits in his old age. He constantly related his motifs to the Kras and scenes from karstic areas. However, he became world-famous with his series of paintings We Are Not the Last in which he re-experienced his own ordeal in the concentration camp of Dachau.

Displayed is the only permanent retrospective exhibition of works by Zoran Mušič which was kindly made possible by the family of the artist's brother. The majority of the exhibited works come from the art collection of Ljuban, Milada and Vanda Mušič, donated or given on loan to the National Gallery of Slovenia. The collection covers the artist's production from 1935 through 1999, that is from the works he painted shortly after he had completed the academy in Zagreb to those he created in his last series. Due to the sensitivity of works on paper, the selection of exhibits varies at a few months' intervals.

The permanent exhibition of Zoran Mušič was inaugurated in the renovated halls of the Narodni dom Palace in May 2016. When the Gallery opened the exhibition, we announced that we will change the selection every few months due to the sensitivity of the works on paper. This time, we are presenting the eight set-up to the visitors. In this way, we are trying to protect the light-sensitive drawings and prints, an important part of the artist’s creative oeuvre, from harmful overextended exhibiting and keep the works at the national collection undamaged and conserved for future generations, also. Besides holding and conserving the legacy of Zoran Mušič, it is our mission to grow and upgrade the collection, to conduct research and present the collection to the public.

The works from the Collection of Ljuban, Milada and Vanda Mušič was thus loaned to important international presentations of Zoran Mušič’s oeuvre; Leopold Museum in Vienna and Contemporary Art Gallery in Monfalcone. The national and permanent collection are complemented by loans, gifts and purchases of works by Zoran Mušič.

The new set-up of the permanent exhibition of Zoran Mušič features 45 works of art. For the first time we present a larger selection of oil and acrylic canvas painting that are partially on loan from the private and public collections in Slovenia. Watercolours, prints and drawings are not as present in this selection, with only ten featured. The new set-up again follows the chronology and cycles within Mušič’s creative body of work, with emphasis on more indicative works from the collection.

Exhibited are early Mediterranean motifs, which inspired the painter from Dalmatia to Venice and led his creative path to the important period of little horses. The present selection highlights the Siena cycle and vegetable motifs. The latter were interwoven and led to the renowned cycle We Are Not the Last. Also standing out are his self-portraits in old age and Venetian land- and cityscapes.