It’s a well known fact that women artists have been heavily under-represented throughout history, both in museum collections and in the art world in general. The Zagreb City Museum is currently doing its part in setting the record straight: they have organised an exhibition of works created by Croatian women artists, most of which the general public hasn’t yet had a chance to see in person.
Titled “Donator and donation: towards the museum of paintresses born in the 19th century”, the exhibition on display is part of the collection owned by Dr Josip Kovačić, who donated all of the works to the Zagreb City Museum in 1988 under the condition that he was to manage the collection for the rest of his life. Even though the plans for the exhibition have been in the works since 2009, Kovačić passed away only a month before the collection was finally put on display. Nevertheless, his efforts finally get to see the light of day: the exhibition tells the story of the women artists who often had to fight for their craft a lot harder than their male counterparts, and provides the audience with a chance to see the works of 33 artists including Slava Raškaj, Nasta Rojc and Anka Krizmanić.
Apart from showcasing previously unseen paintings and drawings, the exhibition serves as an incentive for the City to support the project of opening a museum dedicated to Croatian women artists. You can see the collection in the Zagreb City Museum until September 3rd 2017.
