Mirko Virius
Encyclopedia
Mirko Virius was a Croatia
n naive painter
. He was one of the three most prominent members of the first generation of the Hlebine School.
Virius was born in the village of Đelekovec near Koprivnica
, where he completed four years of primary school. In the First World War, he fought as an Austro-Hungarian soldier
in Galicia. He was captured by Russians and made a forced laborer in Kiev
, Kharkov and the Ekaterinoslav iron plant.
He returned from Russia in the spring of 1918 and remained in Zagreb
until the war ended. Virius then went home to Đelekovec, where he lived in penury and married a war widow with two children. He became a member of the progressive peasant movement, led by the Croatian Peasant Party
. In 1936, the writer Mihovil Pavlek Miškina
introduced him to the painters from Hlebine
, Ivan Generalić
and Franjo Mraz
. They were the first generation of the Croatian naive art
movement, the Hlebine School.
Virius was a self-taught painter, who started painting late in life. In just three years (1936–39) he created an impressive body of work. He participated in the First Exhibition of Peasant Painters in Zagreb. Virius made watercolors, drawings and oils
. His opus is dominated by expressive and bleak depictions of social themes - peasant labor, the soil, poor villagers - best shown in paintings such as The Beggar, The Plowing, The Red Bull, The Overturned Cart, The Flour Exchange Office. The prominent lines, the purity and elegance of his drawings prompted the critic Josip Depolo to call him "the Giotto of Podravina
".
In the Second World War, Virius was arrested because of his political activities and taken to a Nazi concentration camp in Zemun
, where he died. His tragic fate was immortalized by his friend Generalić, who painted The Death of Virius, one of his most famous paintings.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n naive painter
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
. He was one of the three most prominent members of the first generation of the Hlebine School.
Virius was born in the village of Đelekovec near Koprivnica
Koprivnica
Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:...
, where he completed four years of primary school. In the First World War, he fought as an Austro-Hungarian soldier
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
in Galicia. He was captured by Russians and made a forced laborer in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Kharkov and the Ekaterinoslav iron plant.
He returned from Russia in the spring of 1918 and remained in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
until the war ended. Virius then went home to Đelekovec, where he lived in penury and married a war widow with two children. He became a member of the progressive peasant movement, led by the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
. In 1936, the writer Mihovil Pavlek Miškina
Mihovil Pavlek Miškina
Mihovil Pavlek Miškina was a Croatian poet, short story writer and politician. He was a member of the Croatian Peasant Party and an opponent of the Ustaša regime.His work usually embraced Socialist ideas and protested against injustice...
introduced him to the painters from Hlebine
Hlebine
Hlebine is a municipality in Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. It consists of two villages, Hlebine and Gabajeva Greda.-Population:Its population is earns its living primarily from agricultural production. The population has been decreasing continuously for a number of years...
, Ivan Generalić
Ivan Generalic
Ivan Generalić was a Croatian naïve art painter.Generalić was born in Hlebine near Koprivnica. In elementary school, painting lessons were his greatest joy and as a child he used to earn money...
and Franjo Mraz
Franjo Mraz
Franjo Mraz was a notable Croatian artist. Together with Ivan Generalić and Mirko Virius, he is considered a founder of Croatian naive art. His most famous paintings are "Oranje" and "Zima" ....
. They were the first generation of the Croatian naive art
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
movement, the Hlebine School.
Virius was a self-taught painter, who started painting late in life. In just three years (1936–39) he created an impressive body of work. He participated in the First Exhibition of Peasant Painters in Zagreb. Virius made watercolors, drawings and oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
. His opus is dominated by expressive and bleak depictions of social themes - peasant labor, the soil, poor villagers - best shown in paintings such as The Beggar, The Plowing, The Red Bull, The Overturned Cart, The Flour Exchange Office. The prominent lines, the purity and elegance of his drawings prompted the critic Josip Depolo to call him "the Giotto of Podravina
Podravina
Podravina or Podravje are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in Croatia and Slovenia.-History:...
".
In the Second World War, Virius was arrested because of his political activities and taken to a Nazi concentration camp in Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, where he died. His tragic fate was immortalized by his friend Generalić, who painted The Death of Virius, one of his most famous paintings.