Sights in Split - Croatia and Slovenia - page 327

arecelebrating life,oftenthroughthemediumofmusic(dancing,singing,playingin-
struments, and so on).
Tumult: Meštrovi ć 's life coincided with a time of great turmoil in Europe. He
livedthroughWorldWarI,thecreationofthefirstYugoslavia,WorldWarII,thepost-
war/communist Yugoslavia, and the dawn of the Atomic Age in the United States.
This early 20th-century angst—particularly surrounding his arrest and exile during
World War II—comes through in his work.
Meštrovi ć 's works can be found throughout Split, Croatia, and the former
Yugoslavia. In Split, in addition to the Meštrovi ć Gallery and Kaštelet Chapel, you'll
find his statues of Marko Maruli ć (see here ) , Gregory of Nin ( here ) , and John the
Baptist ( here ). Zagreb has another fine atelier/museum of Meštrovi ć 's works (see
here ) , and the seaside village of Cavtat, just outside Dubrovnik, has one of the
sculptor's most cohesive and poignant works, the Ra č i ć Mausoleum (see here ) . And
sitting high above Montenegro is the mountaintop Njegoš monument at Lov ć en.
Next, turn right into the Secession Room. Two of the finest works in this room— Little
Girl Singing and The Katunari ć Family —show the influence of Meštrovi ć 's contemporary,
Rodin:smoothedratherthanangularfeatures,whichmakethefinalproductlessstrictlylife-
like, but also more expressive and visually pleasing. Other pieces in this room include sev-
eral small studies for larger statues, some of which were never completed.
Pass through the room of drawings into the Long Hall, lined with life-size figures and a
viewterrace.The Vestal Virgin ,sittingwithherkneesapartandfeettogether,isdemonstrat-
ing a favorite pose of Meštrovi ć 's. And, once again, we see women finding solace and joy
in music: dancing (while playfully tossing her hair), playing a lute, and so on. For contrast,
look at the facing wall to see sketches of male nudes struggling. Step out onto the terrace to
enjoy the Dalmatian views that inspired the artist.
At the end of the hall—past another small landing with drawings—is the Study Room,
filled with miniature sculptures Meštrovi ć created to prepare for larger-scale works: Moses ,
Prometheus (the figure tied to a rock, to be eaten by birds for eternity), and Cyclops (a large
versionofwhichwesawoutside).Noticethesmallstudyof Job ,thengointothesmallside-
room to see the much larger final version.
One of Meštrovi ć 's most powerful works, Job —howling with an agony verging on in-
sanity—was carved by the artist in exile, as his country was turned upside-down by World
War II. Like Picasso's Guernica , it's a silent scream against the inanity of war. The cur-
ator has intentionally placed it in a separate room to emphasize the feeling of alienation.