Zlatko Prica

Zlatko Prica (Pečuh, 1916 – Rijeka, 2003) graduated in 1940 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb (Lj. Babić). He is one of the founders of the Mart group (1957) and the Forum gallery in Zagreb (1969). Regular member of HAZU since 1988. He worked in different techniques (drawing, graphics, watercolor, gouache, oil, stained glass, mosaic, fresco). On the eve of the Second World War, he painted with broad spots of color and a free stroke (Straw Hat, 1939; Winter Landscape, 1940). In 1941, during the captivity in the concentration camp, he drew the cycle People from the Danica camp (created in 1947 in a graphic map), and in 1944 he illustrated the expressionistic poem Jama by I. G. Kovačić (with E. Murtić). After a trip to India in 1952, the Samobor Cycle (1953 – 57) was created, which is characterized by emphasized stylization, a more flat expression, and sonority and purity of intense colors. Elongated female figures and strong colorism and graphics with which he rhythmically structured the surface remained permanent features of his painting (Fruits of the Earth cycle, 1957 – 69; Tar cycle, 1971 – 91; Opatija umbrellas, 1993 – 98). He received the Vladimir Nazor Award for Lifetime Achievement (1980).