Summary
Biserka Rauter Plančić: Leo Junek
Leo Junek was born in 1899 in Zagreb. This painter of recognizable urban motifs and landscapes spent most of his life in France as Lorris Junec.
His painting ranged from impressionism in his youth to surrealism in his later years. He is best known for his refined color harmonies of motifs from the Seine and from Paris, as well as portraits and figures.
He mainly did self-portraits, figures, still lifes, vedutes and landscapes in oil, tempera, watercolor and gouache, and drew with pencil and ink. He developed his own expression under the influence of Cézanne, and his artistic style is unique in Croatian art production.
He started his education at the Kaptol seminary, continued at the Gornjogradska gymnasium and at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, where he interrupted his studies to enroll at the art academy. His teachers were Ferdo Kovačević, Maksimilijan Vanka and Ljubo Babić.
Before finishing his studies in 1924, he visits Paris, which he immediately falls in love with, and his obsession with that city is best expressed by these words: "When I saw it, I returned to Zagreb, finished my studies with Babić, took a diploma, exhibited with Ulrich, received a scholarship to Paris... And I'm still in Paris".
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