Zoran Mušič
(1909–)
(–2005)
Zoran Mušič
1909–2005
Antonio Zoran Mušič (1909–2005) was a Slovenian painter and printmaker who is known for his colourful landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, as well as his drawings documenting his experience at Dachau, the Nazi concentration camp.
Born in Bukovica, a small town in the Austrian County of Gorizia and Gradisca (now in Slovenia), Mušič studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb between 1930 and 1935 before traveling extensively around Europe. In 1936, he completed mandatory military service in Yugoslavia, and in the following years, he lived in Maribor, Ljubljana, Trieste, and Venice, taking commissions and creating a variety of paintings and prints. His first exhibition was held in 1942 in Ljubljana.
Mušič was arrested by Nazi officials for participating in an anti-fascist group in 1944 and was sent to Dachau. While a prisoner, he created over 180 drawings that document the horrors of life in the camp. When Dachau was liberated in 1945, about 100 of the drawings were saved. After returning to Ljubljana, Mušič quickly moved to Italy, settling in Venice to escape communist pressures.
His work was mainly focused on the surrounding Italian and Dalmatian landscapes and was often influenced by his interest in Byzantine mosaics and icons. By 1952, Mušič moved to Paris, keeping his studio in Venice. He went back and forth between Italy and France for the rest of his life. After moving to Paris, his work was heavily influenced by Lyrical Abstraction which was at the forefront of the artistic scene in Paris. In the 1960s, Mušič’s work became more abstract as his compositions flattened, losing their three-dimensionality. His most famous series of work, We Are Not the Last, was created in 1970 and reflects on his experience surviving Dachau and universal tragedy. Despite losing his eyesight in his old age, Mušič continued drawing until 2000.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in numerous museums worldwide, including the Stedelijik Museum, Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Louvre, Paris, among many others. A large retrospective of his work was organized at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1955. He won awards at the Venice Biennale in 1956 and 1960, and in 1991 he was awarded the Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement, a significant arts award in Slovenia.