Croatian Photography through the Eyes of Peter Knapp

Croatian Photography through the Eyes of Peter Knapp is the title of an exhibition taking place at the Museum of Arts and Crafts until March 3rd. The exhibition which was recently seen by thousands of visitors during the Croatian festival in Paris can rightfully be referred to as “the best of Croatian photography.

When a charismatic person such as Peter Knapp selects works for a particular exhibition it is a guarantee that the visitors will see the best of the best, which is what Zagreb’s Museum of Arts and Crafts is heavily relying on for this project. The exhibition is titled Croatian Photography through the Eyes of Peter Knapp and it will remain open until March 3rd. The exhibition features the best works by contemporary Croatian photographers.

Besides being the art director at Elle magazine, Peter Knapp is a regular contributor to many prestigious publications such as Vogue, The Sunday Times and Stern, as well as an art photographer, designer, pedagogue and an expert on Croatian photography. The museum’s photography advisor, Marija Tonković, assisted him in selecting works for the exhibition.

Peter Knapp’s selection of Croatian photography was also exhibited, among other artwork, at the Cité International Des Arts of Paris, as part of a large Croatian festival in France (Croatie, la voici). Thus, the best Croatian photographs were also seen by thousands of visitors in Paris, while some 15 thousand readers of Beaux-Arts, one of the most influential art magazines in France, received a catalogue of works by Croatian artists as a gift.

The Museum of Arts and Crafts’ visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy an extraordinary photo exhibition featuring numerous anthological works by some of the most significant Croatian photographers which have never been exhibited together before.

This includes works by photographers such as Tošo Dabac, one of the best known Croatian photographers, the famous couple Milan and Slavka Pavić, Ðuro Janeković and Mladen Tudor – photographers who have become important contributors to European and global photography.

Tošo Dabac was a world renowned Croatian photographer and one of the founders of the Zagreb School of Art Photography. He received many awards and acknowledgements around the globe.

He photographed life on the streets, beggars, ordinary folk at the market, travelling circus performers… His famous early phase includes a series titled Misery and Life on the Street (1932 – 1935), and that was followed by a series of portraits, folklore photographs, and photographs of animals, architecture, landscapes and cultural monuments, which he continued photographing until his death.

Also interesting is a couple who are both photographers; the late Milan Pavić and his still very much active wife Slavka Pavić. Milan Pavić started photographing in the 1930’s when he introduced the poeticism of the so-called New Objectivity into Croatian photography. He was a little older than Slavka and already an established photographer when they met and her talent developed alongside him over time. She has also had a successful career, and she has exhibited her work at several independent and group exhibitions over the last few years. Interestingly, the aforementioned Tošo Dabac was a mentor to the Pavić couple.

The exhibition also features the greatest works by contemporary photographers, including Boris Cvjetanović, Ivan Faktor, Marko Ercegović and Jelena Blagović. The exhibition is also complemented by numerous short films from the series Photography in Croatia produced by Croatian Television.