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Art Influences and Brief HistoryArchitecture:
Preserved historical renditions of Croatian art resembles strong influences to the Romanesque (earlier architecture), Renaissance (modest) and Braque Periods (blatant). Most of Croatian historical art centralizes around architecture as can be seen from St Donatus Cathedral in Zadar, to the Arena in Pula. Many of the great works of history in Croatia are kept intact throughout the years. Croats take pride in building entire cities around old 16th century forts and even towns. Dozens of churches and similar architecture are in some form of reconstruction or preservation each year; most likely because the Yugoslav Wars damaged so many in its' wake. [RF 19] Sculpture: Certainly the most powerful European artist in the first half of the 20th century was sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, whose talent took him from the position of a shepherd boy to the very top position place in the art world. He was considered a hero in his country for the amount of artwork he willingly gave to the people. Tourists are sure to pass several of his pieces roaming around Split, Zadar and Zagreb. His most notable work was his restoration and rebuilding of an old 16th Century Chapel and Convent known as the Kastelet. In 1946 Syracuse University in the United States offered him professorship, which he in turn obliged to. However, before he died, Meštrović returned to Yugoslavia one last time in order to visit Tito himself. At the request of various organizations and leaders, he sent 59 statues from the United States to Yugoslavia, and in 1952 signed off his Croatian estates to the people, including over 400 sculptures and numerous drawings.[RF 21], [RF 22] & [RF 23] Naive Art Form: "In Croatia the concept of the Naive assumes the work of artists who arrived from amateurism, people who are more or less self-taught, painters and sculptors who did not obtain their education by systematic training at art schools and academies, which did not, however, prevent them from creating their own style, achieving their own level of art. An identifiably individual style and an individual poetics that is always there pick the Naive out quite clearly from the various examples of amateurism and dilettantism, from "Sunday" and "vernacular" painters and sculptors, and from all the rest of the undifferentiated mass of the self-taught. Since the artists of the Naive do not know how to construct a work according to the lessons of the academies, there are always certain departures in their works in proportions and perspective, and numerous "illogicalities in form and space. A positive evaluation of such characteristics, as the expression of the free creative imagination, could come into being only after Symbolism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and the other movements and phenomena of the Modern Movement had already been experienced. This clearly shows that the Naive is also a 20th century form of expression and is in key with the modern sensibility." [RF 20] Music & Theatre: Zagreb, Split and Rijeka are the central hubs for the most held theatrical and musical festivities. Zagreb tends to have upwards of 12 festivals a year during Croatia's theatre season of September to June of every year. "Croatian theatre life can be divided into an institutional and an independent scene. The institutional scene is linked to a repertory theatre, mostly public theaters which plan their repertoire well in advance." The independent scene on the other hand is connected to the cultural organizations, private enterprises and civic associations. [RF 24] & [RF 25] In recent years the music scene in Croatia has seen heavy western influence with various new artists producing popular national music regularly. However, there are more traditional musical tastes that are to this day, very prevalent.
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