Croatian Art, Reverse Glass Paintings, Painting On Glass, Oil On Glass - Croatian Naive Art

THE UNIQUE PHILOSOPHY OF "NICHE ART"

It is rather simple. I believe that there are many newly emerging nations whether coming out from under communistic or totalitarian rule (such as many of the countries in Eastern Europe) or those attempting to emerge from third world status like those in the deepest and most remote parts of Africa and Asia that have their own unique forms of art as well as their "Great Masters" and up-and-coming Masters of this art, whom are little known to the rest of the world and that my friends, is the key. They are little known to the rest of the world. Because of this, those that do know have the unique opportunity to collect rare works from "The Masters" and up-and-coming "Masters" of this genre for their own personal collections at reasonable prices and the opportunity to zero in on one small segment of the art world and become an "expert" of sorts on a particular niche.

That's it! that's my philosophy of "Niche Art."

So much art. So little time. It would be almost impossible for the average person to study every form of world art in order to become well enough informed to be able to make sound collecting decisions, but it certainly is possible to study one small, precise niche with what I like to call a "laser-like focus" and feel relatively comfortable that one has gained enough knowledge of that particular niche to make informed decisions. That's what I do. That is what I do in only one small, precise niche and with that laser-like focus. That niche is called:

CROATIAN NAIVE PAINTINGS OF OIL ON GLASS

I do this primarily because I have fallen in love with the art. Because I want to collect it. Because I think it is beautiful. Because it is at times quaint, nostalgic, mysterious, beautiful, primitive, superlative and at times "fantastical." Because I feel that there have never before been (perhaps in the history of mankind!) so many wonderful, kind, talented artists contributing to an artistic genre gathered in such a small geographic area and I would very much like to help them gain greater exposure here in the US and because I get enjoyment from collecting it. What I am trying to tell you is:

YOU CAN LEARN ENOUGH ABOUT CROATIAN NAIVE ART TO FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT COLLECTING:

CROATIAN NAIVE OIL PAINTINGS ON GLASS.

"O.K." you say. "So Croatian Naive paintings of 'oil on glass' is the niche. So what is Croatian Naive art and what's the big deal with painting on glass?" Well, that's a little tougher to explain, but I'll do my best while attempting to keep it simple. 

Most of these artists came from and come from a region of what was once a part of Yugoslavia (now Croatia) called Podravina and many from a small town in the North on the River Drava called Hlebine, about 50 miles from Zagreb the capital.

To make a long story short, the artist Krsto Hegedusic found two young farmers in the late 1920s (Ivan Generalic and Franjo Mraz) painting in Hlebine and doing a very nice job of it given the fact that they were basically self-taught. He eventually introduced them to and taught them the technique of painting on the reverse side of glass in order that the piece could be viewed through the glass itself. The reason for painting on glass was that the colors viewed through the glass are so much more vivid than anything you will ever see on canvas. Well, the intricacies of this novel technique can only be imagined by the layman. The signature had to go on first. All of the main images and foreground needed to be placed on the glass next so that afterward there would be nothing covered up by the final touches of the painting. After each stage the painting must be left to completely dry so just a single painting could turn into a project that lasted from days to years. Also, one must realize that the painting was going to appear to the viewer in the exact reverse from the artist's rendering.

Well, there is a history of about 80 years of this form of art that I will not get deeply into. Suffice it to be said that these artists from "The Hlebine School" in the early stages painted what might be called "social protest" art because of the harsh (to say the least) injustices placed on the peasants from an overly repressive and dictatorial government. They painted anti-government scenes. Actually, for a period of about 7 years when it was forbidden to create this form of art, the artists were banned and only the bravest of them continued to paint in what was an underground movement.

Krsto Hegedusic thought that the only reason for the art should be to protest government actions, while many of the young artists from Hlebine decided that there were other things they would prefer to paint. Generalic, Mraz and others began to paint things they knew and lived.: farm scenes, winter scenes and life in general in the countryside of Podravina. Eventually there came a split between Hegedisic and the Hlebine School painters, which by the way had grown to include many more than simply Generalic and Mraz and they basically parted ways with Hegedusic. Not meaning to skip a lot of history, but for the sake of brevity, I will bring us up to the present.

Today, there are more than 100 of these artists of the Croatian Naive, painting mostly oil on glass, and oh so many of them are exceptionally talented! The subject matter and individual styles vary much more than they did in the infancy of this movement (so much so that I like to call much of this newer art "Universal" in that it has a tremendous "universal" appeal whether in the United States, Japan or elsewhere) and to be really frank with you I personally feel that the caliber of art in general has gotten better with the passing of time. The "technique" is being perfected.

You can collect the newer generations of these artists, actually a huge number of second and third generation of extremely talented artists, without spending a fortune and enjoy the heck out of their paintings since there is nothing quite like them in the world! These are unique originals mind you. They're not serigraphs, lithographs, giclee prints or photographs...they are ORIGINALS of "oil on glass" paintings from some of the most talented artists in the world; real collector's items! I'm not going to begin naming them all, but as you begin your study of Croatian Naive art you will see for yourselves.

Those whom are called the Masters of the movement, beginning with "The Four Ivans": Ivan Generalic, Ivan Rabuzin, Ivan Vecenaj and Ivan Lackovic Croata as well as Mijo Kovacic, Mirko Virius, Franjo Filipovic, Franjo Klopotan, Dragan Gazi, Josip Generalic (Ivan's son) and perhaps a few others have paintings that could certainly become museum pieces (and many are!) albeit they are considerably more expensive than the newer generations. More expensive, yes, but still affordable for many! That's what's great about this thing I call "niche art from emerging nations." They are still affordable!

It doesn't really have to be Croatian Naive Art as I said earlier, because there are probably a dozen countries where this same thing is happening. Actually, I don't pay any attention to the other countries because I neither have the time nor the inclination to do so. I have found where I want to be. I have made and continue to make a study of this one particular niche with what I like to call that "laser like focus." This is:

CROATIAN NAIVE ART @

CroatianNaiveArt.com

My name is James A. Nannen and I am CroatianNaiveArt.com. I have done many other things in my lifetime that I won't get too involved with, but let's simply say that my life has been full and most would call it successful. This "niche art from emerging nations" thing has me truly excited. You must know what it's like, when you have something you really believe in. You like to talk about it with others. That's what I'm doing. I like this particular art and the "niche art" concept so much and I know others will too if they simply take a little time to learn about it.

Having personally visited many of the recent generations of Croatian Naive artists where they live and work as well as some of those whom I and others call "The Masters", I have accumulated enough paintings for my wife and me to feel we have a really nice collection. I do, however, continue to concentrate on adding to and upgrading our collection and while purchasing new works for ourselves I am also selectively buying others to sell to anyone on the Internet that may express an interest. You will also notice a couple of books for sale.

Enjoy looking at the pictures of past trips to Croatia as well as the paintings. Look at the information on the books we have for sale and maybe purchase one to further your education, but remember what almost everyone will tell you about art: buy it because you like it since you will be looking at it every day.

I hope you enjoy viewing the rest of the site. Click on the pictures of the paintings to enlarge for details. Prices are available on email request, but basically they range from about $500 to $20,000 with the majority between $1,000 and $3,000. Come back often, because as well as making more than one trip yearly to visit with the artists, we also plan to have paintings shipped in often. If you see a painting or book that you have an interest in please email me. We can arrange secure shipping anywhere in the world.

Also, please don't forget to sign up for our mailing list at the top of any page. I promise not to send notices often and will only do so when new paintings arrive or when we have a special circumstance to announce.

Cheers and happy collecting!

James A. Nannen

OPENED OCTOBER 14, 2006