Mestrovic Atelier

The Meštrović Atelier stands on Mletačka street in Zagreb's Upper Town, a short walk from the Lotrščak Tower and the Stone Gate, and it is the former home and studio of Ivan Meštrović, the most famous Croatian sculptor of the 20th century. The house is a cluster of buildings around a garden, and it was Meštrović’s residence in Zagreb from the 1920s. In 1952, he donated it to the Croatian people, and it became a museum in his lifetime, one of the few places where visitors can see the work of a great artist in the rooms where he lived.

Meštrović was born in 1883 in a village in Slavonia and grew up in Dalmatia, where he worked as a stonemason's apprentice. He studied in Vienna, was influenced by the Secession and by Rodin, and achieved international fame before the First World War, with monumental works on themes of myth, history and national identity. He worked in Paris, Rome and London, and later spent much of his life in the United States, where he taught and made works that are found in Chicago, Washington and South Bend, in Indiana. His largest projects, among them the Well of Life in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, the monumental figure of Gregory of Nin in Split and the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Mount Avala near Belgrade, are known across the region.

The atelier shows him at work and at home. Rooms are filled with sculptures in marble, bronze, wood and plaster, along with drawings, models and photographs, and some are displayed in the garden, where the sculptures stand among trees and flowers. Furniture, family objects and the artist's personal belongings give a sense of his daily life, and the atmosphere is intimate and quiet. Visitors can follow his development from the early works, influenced by Secession and Symbolism, to the later, calmer religious subjects, and see the way he worked from clay models through plaster to the final casts.

The atelier is part of a family of Meštrović museums. The Meštrović Gallery in Split, in the villa he built for himself by the sea, and the Kaštelet nearby show his work in another setting, and in Zagreb, the Glyptotheque offers more of Croatian sculpture. Opening times, prices and any temporary closures change from time to time, so check before you visit. A visit takes about an hour.

The atelier suits art lovers, students and anyone interested in the life of a great artist. The garden is lovely in spring and summer.