Baroque to Modern

Baroque in Dubrovnik

The devastating earthquake of 1667 almost completely destroyed Dubrovnik. The city was rebuilt in a uniform Baroque style — which is why the old town appears so harmonious. The Jesuit Church (modeled after Il Gesù in Rome), the cathedral, and the Rector's Palace are the main works.

Imperial and Royal Architecture in Zagreb

The Lower Town (Donji Grad) was laid out in the 19th century following the Viennese model: wide boulevards, magnificent historicist buildings, the famous Green Horseshoe (Lenuci's Horseshoe) — a U-shaped arrangement of parks and representative buildings. The Croatian National Theatre (1895, designed by Viennese architects Helmer and Fellner) is a major work of Neo-Baroque.

Ivan Meštrović (1883-1962)

Croatia's most famous sculptor and one of the most important of the 20th century. His monumental works are everywhere: the Grgur Ninski (Bishop Gregory) in Split (touching the big toe brings luck!), the Meštrović Atelier in Zagreb, the Meštrović Gallery and the Kaštel in Split. His style combines Auguste Rodin with expressionist power.

Socialist Modernism

Yugoslav architecture is a category of its own: Brutalism with a certain elegance. In Zagreb: the Museum of Contemporary Art (2009, Igor Franić), the massive residential blocks in Novi Zagreb. Throughout the region: Spomeniks — abstract partisan monuments from the 1960s-70s, now rediscovered as Instagram hotspots (Petrova Gora, Podgarić).

Naive Art — Hlebine School

A uniquely Croatian art movement: In the 1930s, farmers in the village of Hlebine (near Koprivnica, north of Zagreb) began painting under the guidance of artist Krsto Hegedušić. The reverse glass painting with idyllic village scenes, winter landscapes, and folkloric motifs became world-famous. Ivan Generalić is the most renowned representative. The Croatian Museum of Naive Art in Zagreb has the best collection.