Ivan Rein (9 September 1905 – 12 December 1943) was a Croatian-Jewish painter.

Early life and education

Rein was born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

into a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish family. His father Mavro Rein was Osijek's prominent judge and a lawyer, his mother Olga (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hönigsberg) came from a Zagreb's wealthy Jewish family, who owned a leather factory and the famous ''Caffé Zagreb''. Rein had a sister, Renata. From his early age Rein learned languages, literature, philosophy, art and music. Rein attended the private school of Josip Leović, where he learned painting. He went to

gymnasium, and was sitting together with

Oscar Nemon Oscar Nemon (born Oscar Neumann; 13 March 1906 – 13 April 1985) was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Winston Churchill ...

, the Croatian sculptor. In 1924 Rein went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

where he enrolled to study architecture. With the support of his parents, Rein abandoned his studies in Vienna, and in 1925 returned to his family, which in the meantime moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. In Zagreb he started to attend the study of painting at the

Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb The Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb ( or ALU) is a Croatian art school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art (ADU) and the Academy of Music (MUZA). T ...

in the class of the famous Croatian painter

Vladimir Becić Vladimir Becić (1886–1954) was a Croatian painter, best known for his early work in Munich, which had a strong influence on the direction of modern art in Croatia. Becić studied painting in Munich at the prestigious Academy of Arts along wit ...

. Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Ivan Rein, Pariška paleta; stranica 62; broj 98, studeni / prosinac 2006.

Career and later life

Upon the completion of his study at the academy, in 1929, Rein moved to Paris and settled in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...

. With having excellent knowledge of foreign languages, particularly French, Rein quickly turned to an artistic life. In 1933 he had his first solo exhibition in Paris and in 1934 he participated at the first annual exhibition of

Croatian art Croatian art describes the visual arts in Croatia, and art by Croatian artists from prehistoric times to the present. In Early Middle Ages, Croatia was an important centre for art and architecture in south eastern Europe. There were many Croatia ...

ists in Zagreb. The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

deeply shocked Rein, as he joined the international anti-war movement that opposed the emerging

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. The suffering of innocent people and death become almost obsessive theme for Rein, as they are illustrated in his works. In 1937 Rein attended the exhibition of Yugoslav artists in Paris, where he exhibited nine works. He participated in 1939 at the exhibition of Yugoslav painters and sculptors hosted at the

Bernheim-Jeune Bernheim-Jeune gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in Paris. Opened on Rue Laffitte in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim (1839-1915), friend of Delacroix, Corot and Courbet, it changed location a few times before settling on Avenue Matignon. ...

gallery in Paris. After the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

, in 1940 Rein returned to Zagreb where he participated in the exhibitions until the Nazi occupation of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in 1941. Due to the frequent persecution of Croatian Jews, Rein escaped to

Gorski Kotar Gorski Kotar () is the mountainous region in Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka. Because 63% of its surface is forested it is popularly called ''the green lungs of Croatia'' or ''Croatian Switzerland''. The European route E65, which connects B ...

, but in 1942 he ended up in the concentration camp

Kraljevica Kraljevica (known as ''Porto Re'' in Italian and literally translated as "King's cove" in English) is a town in the Kvarner region of western Croatia, located between Rijeka and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from Opatija and near ...

. In the camp, Rein taught children and his friends to draw and paint. In 1943 the Italians closed the camp in Kraljevica and moved all prisoners to the

Rab concentration camp The Rab concentration camp (; ; ) was one of several Italian concentration camps. It was established during World War II, in July 1942, on the Italian-annexed island of Rab (now in Croatia). According to historians James Walston James Walston ...

. After the

capitulation of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

and the liberation of the camp, Rein joined the

Partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

. At the end of 1943, Rein was seriously wounded and caught by

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

. After torture and unsuccessful surgery, he died in the

Sisak Sisak (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin ...

hospital on 12 December 1943. That same year his parents were killed at the Jasenovac and

Stara Gradiška concentration camp Stara Gradiška was a concentration and extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. The camp was specially constructed for women and children of Serb, Jewish and Romani ethnicity. Victims also included commu ...

s. His sister was the only member of the family who survived the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and after the war she moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

where she lived until her death.

Legacy

After the war 900 of Rein's works, of nearly 2000 that he created while in Paris, were saved and delivered to Croatia. In the early 1980, after reanimation, research, through the exhibitions and monographs devoted to Rein, his saved works were presented to wider audience. Exhibitions of Reins works are often presented across Croatia in the various Museums and galleries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rein, Ivan 1905 births 1943 deaths People from Osijek Croatian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Jewish painters Jews in the Yugoslav Partisans Yugoslav Partisans members Croatian people of World War II Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb alumni Rab concentration camp survivors 20th-century Croatian painters Croatian male painters Croatian torture victims 20th-century Croatian male artists