Oton Iveković

Croatian painter

Oton Iveković (; 17 April 1869 – 4 July 1939) was a Croatian painter. A graduate of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Iveković later taught at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts. He largely concerned himself with historical topics as well as some religious themes. Many of his paintings remain the chief representations of Croatian history.

Oton Iveković was born on 17 April 1869 in Klanjec, where he finished elementary school. He attended high school for three and a half years in Zagreb where, except for History and Art, he neglected other subjects. When his brother Ćiril went to school in Vienna, he wanted join him and enter the Art Academy, but family couldn't afford it. Instead, he began his studying art in Zagreb with Ferdo Quiquerez, a Croatian painter of French descent. After that, he decided to specialize in history painting and studied with Josef Matyáš Trenkwald. At the request of his teacher, he was removed from the summer semester because of frequent arguments with other professors at the Academy. In 1886 he resumed his specialization in history painting, this time with August Eisenmenger. Encouraging his history paintings, Kršnjavi recommended Iveković to his friend, Ferdinand Keller at the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe in 1892. In addition, Iveković illustrated August Šenoa's novel Zlatarevo Zlato (Goldsmiths's Gold), and was an active participant in the Matica hrvatska as a graphic designer. In 1903 he painted the founders of the Matica on a large canvas which may still be seen at the Matica's headquarters in Zagreb. He also worked in theater as a costume and set designer and, in 1904, was involved in the creation of the artistic association "Lada". In 1908, the School of Crafts was transformed into an art academy, where Iveković taught drawing and painting until his retirement in 1927. In 1909 he took a sabbatical and traveled to the United States to work on the Croatian parish of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Kansas City, where he painted ceilings and walls with fifteen various scenes. Upon completion of the job, he traveled through the American West, recording scenes from the life of cowboys and Indians. He published accounts of his travels in the journal Vienac in 1911.

After the war, he sold his house in Jurjevska street in Zagreb and bought the castle of Veliki Tabor. The castle was in very poor condition and required several master craftsmen to do the repair work. The Iveković family lived in Veliki Tabor until 1935, and sold the castle in 1938. Oton spent the last year of his life with his brother Albin in Klanjec. Iveković died on 4 July 1939 in Klanjec.