An Unknown Painting by Ljubo Babic in Kaštela

The article deals with the ''finding" of a large oil painting on canvas in Kastela, believed to be of an unknown origin, the date of execution and by unknown author. The painting is signed "Lj. B. 924." in the lower right-hand corner. The historical, iconographic and stylistic analysis has revealed that the painting, representing Zagreb's main street Ilica, is an autographed work by Ljubo Babic, one of the key figures of Croatian Modernism, executed in 1924. The motif of the street was frequent in Babic's oeuvre, and some of his paintings of the said motif are considered to be the capital works of Croatian painting. The attribution and dating of the painting have been deduced through comparison with Babic's painting of similar motif entitled Ilica 1928. The inexistence of a title neither on the painting itself, nor in written or oral tradition, prompted a research of press reports of the period, as well as of available documents and catalogues starting from the painted motif and the year of execution, which enabled the conclusion that the painting's title was Ilica. The artwork was first displayed on the eighth exhibition of the Independent Artists Group in 1924 in Split, when it was acquired by the Cooperative Union (Zadružni savez) to be preserved first in Split and then in Kastela. In comparison to the known and preserved works of Ljubo Babic, the oil painting Ilica is one of the artist's largest canvases (180 x 150.5 cm) as well as one of his most accomplished works. It was executed in the period of Babic's activity within the Independent Artists Group (1921-1927) formed of fellow artists who aimed at the creation of a national artistic expression through their individual painterly language. Retrospective exhibitions, catalogues and available bibliography have thus far presented all known Babic's works, while the discussed painting in Kastela has remained lost and unknown to the scholarly public. The painting's attribution, evaluation and dating are significant in the context of the cultural image of Kastela and Croatia, as well as within the painter's oeuvre.

Ljubo Babić, Ilica 1928., watercoloured drawing, 1928.