PAINTERS from Croatia

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Croatian Painters of all time. This list of famous Croatian Painters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Vlaho Bukovac (1855 - 1922)

With an HPI of 58.14, Vlaho Bukovac is the most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Vlaho Bukovac (French: Blaise Bukovac; Italian: Biagio Faggioni; 4 July 1855 – 23 April 1922) was a Croatian painter and academic. His life and work were eclectic, for the artist pursued his career in a variety of locales and his style changed greatly over the course of that career. He is probably best known for his 1887 nude Une fleur (A Flower), which he created during his French period and which received attention in various reviews and publications during his lifetime. Bukovac was the court painter for Obrenović dynasty, Karađorđević dynasty and Petrović-Njegoš dynasty. In Zagreb, he is probably best known as the painter of the 1895 theatre curtain in the Croatian National Theatre.

2. Franz von Bayros (1866 - 1924)

With an HPI of 56.93, Franz von Bayros is the 2nd most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Franz von Bayros (28 May 1866 – 3 April 1924) was an Austrian commercial artist, illustrator, and painter, best known for his controversial Tales at the Dressing Table portfolio. He belonged to the Decadent movement in art, often utilizing erotic themes and phantasmagoric imagery.

3. Roberto Ferruzzi (1853 - 1934)

With an HPI of 56.27, Roberto Ferruzzi is the 3rd most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Roberto Ferruzzi (Italian: [roˈbɛrto ferˈruttsi]; 16 December 1853 – 16 February 1934) was a Dalmatian Italian artist. He is best known for the painting Madonnina that won the second Venice Biennale in 1897.

4. Andrea Schiavone (1510 - 1563)

With an HPI of 54.82, Andrea Schiavone is the 4th most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Andrea Meldolla (Croatian: Andrija Medulić), also known as Andrea Schiavone or Andrea Lo Schiavone, literally "Andrew the Slav", (c. 1510/15–1563) was an Italian Renaissance painter and etcher, born in Dalmatia, in the Republic of Venice (present-day Croatia) to parents from Emilia-Romagna, active mainly in the city of Venice. His style combined Mannerist elements, a relative rarity in Venice, with much influence from the mainstream of Venetian painting, especially Titian.

5. Miroslav Kraljević (1885 - 1913)

With an HPI of 46.97, Miroslav Kraljević is the 5th most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Miroslav Kraljević (14 December 1885 – 16 April 1913) was a Croatian painter, printmaker and sculptor, active in the early part of the 20th century. He is one of the founders of modern art in Croatia. Kraljević studied painting in Vienna and Munich at the prestigious Academy of Arts along with Oskar Herman, Vladimir Becić and Josip Račić. This group of Croatian artists were later called the Munich Circle, known for their influence on modern art in Croatia. After Munich, Kraljević spent time in the family home at Požega, and then in Paris where he produced his best work. He died in Zagreb in April 1913, aged 27, from tuberculosis. Miroslav Kraljević painted in many different styles, including Impressionism, Pointillism and Expressionism. He also became known for his drawings of grotesque or erotic characters, in a similar way to Aubrey Beardsley, and for his sculptures. Working in a variety of media, he used almost every painting and drawing technique in his portraits, figures, still lifes, animals and landscapes. His graphics used etching and woodcut, and sculptures were created in clay, plaster and bronze.

6. Alfred Freddy Krupa (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 36.60, Alfred Freddy Krupa is the 6th most famous Croatian Painter.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Alfred Freddy Krupa (14 June 1971, Karlovac, Yugoslavia) is a Croatian painter and book illustrator. He graduated from the University of Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts in 1995. He published New Ink Art Manifesto in 1996 and departed to Tokyo Gakugei University in 1998. He became well known to the general public in 1990 via the then popular Yugoslav weekly "Vikend/Weekend". Author Milica Jović wrote in her article for New York-based Highlark Magazine that Krupa is considered the pivotal figure in the Western New Ink Art movement. He got the award of the Order of Danica Hrvatska on April 26, 2023 and The City of Karlovac Award on the 13th July 2023.