Viktor Kovačić was a Croatia

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 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

. His projects are marked with subtle purity of reduced elements of historicism

Historicism

Historicism is a mode of thinking that assigns a central and basic significance to a specific context, such as historical period, geographical place and local culture. As such it is in contrast to individualist theories of knowledges such as empiricism and rationalism, which neglect the role of...

, like in monumental Stock Exchange Palace

Zagreb Stock Exchange

The Zagreb Stock Exchange or ZSE is a stock exchange located in Zagreb, Croatia. It is Croatia's only stock exchange. The exchange trades shares of Croatian companies, as well as bonds and commercial bills....

 ' onMouseout='HidePop("50329")' href="/topics/Croatian_National_Bank">Croatian National Bank

Croatian National Bank

The Croatian National Bank is the central bank of the Republic of Croatia.HNB was established by the Constitution of Croatia which was passed by the Croatian Parliament on 21 December 1990. Its main responsibilities are maintaining the stability of the national currency, the kuna, and ensuring...

 headquarters) 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...

, 1924. The modern Croatian architecture appeared with Viktor Kovačić who was the first to speak against historicism

Historicism (art)

Historicism refers to artistic styles that draw their inspiration from copying historic styles or artisans. After neo-classicism, which could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century saw a new historicist phase marked by a return to a more ancient classicism, in particular in...

 and represented the idea that architecture must be individual and modern

Modern art

Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...

, but also practical and comfortable. From the thirties the works of “Zagreb school of architecture" can stand alongside with the best world architecture. They are especially interesting because of merging of two opposite directions in architecture of those days – functionalist

Functionalism (architecture)

Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...

 and organic.

Life

He was born in a small village of Lučen Dol under a peasent family in 1874. He eventually moved to Graz

Graz

The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

, where he spent his life of education. At age of seventeen, he came to 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...

 and worked as an apprentice to Herman Bolle. In 1896 he enrolled at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. He graduated and returned to Zagreb in 1899.

A year after his death, he was posthumously awarded a Grand Prix in Arts and Crafts on the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes

Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes

The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. The term "Art Deco" was derived by shortening the words Arts Décoratifs, in the title of this exposition, but not until the late 1960s by British art critic...

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

Legacy

After the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the Life Achievement Award for architects in Croatia was named "Viktor Kovačić".

Sources

Biography