Lujo Bezeredi (also spelled Bezeredy, ; 1898 – April 20, 1979) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n- Hungarian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

His life

He was born in

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, to a Hungarian-Slovak father and a Croatian mother. After the death of his parents, he moved to Csáktornya (present-day

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

), where he completed his schooling at the public school and teacher's training school. In 1917 he was drafted to the army. He took part in the establishment of the Serbian–Hungarian Baranya–Baja Republic. After the collapse, he fled to

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 ...

, but was briefly detained 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 ...

. He later studied at the College of Education in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in

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 1922. He emigrated to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. He lived on casual manual jobs, and was finally hired in a brick factory in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

where he began to make clay in his spare time. In 1922, he returned to Zagreb and enrolled in the sculpture department of the Academy of Fine Arts. His teachers were Rudolf Valdec,

Robert Frangeš-Mihanović Robert Frangeš-Mihanović (2 October 1872 – 12 January 1940) was a Croatian people, Croatian sculptor. He was a pioneer of modern Croatian sculpture. He was also a prominent figure in the artistic scene in Zagreb at the turn of the Twentieth C ...

and

Frano Kršinić Frano Kršinić (24 July 1897 – 1 January 1982) was a Croatian sculptor active in former Yugoslavia. Along with Ivan Meštrović and Antun Augustinčić, he is considered one of the three most important Croatian sculptors of the 20th cent ...

. Kršinić liked his work, but due to lack of funds, he had to interrupt his studies and made

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

for sale. During these years he lived in great poverty. In 1927, his exhibition opened in Zagreb. Between 1936 and 1941 he lived in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In 1941, during the German occupation of

, he fled to Budapest with a group of Hungarians to join the Budapest anti-fascist group connected to the British SIS (Secret Intelligence Service). As a material for sculptures he mostly used

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

, with engobe being his favourite

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

technique along with less frequently used

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

and glazing techniques. His work is characterized by social motifs from urban and rural life. In 1942, he returned to Csáktornya, taught drawing, but was dismissed from the school because of his principles. He remained in the city until his death and continued to create. In the beginning, he created figurative, later abstract sculptures. From 1927 to 1969, his works were featured in individual and joint exhibitions in the cities of Croatia, Belgrade and

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. ...

. In 1968, he was awarded the second grade of the Yugoslav Medal of Merit. In 1969, he received the

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award () is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959, and awarded every year by the country's Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to Croatian artists ...

for his life's work. Bezeredi donated his entire collection of 485 various works of art to the

Međimurje County Museum The Međimurje County Museum in Čakovec, the seat of Međimurje County, Croatia, is located in the Zrinski Castle inner palace, the biggest medieval fortification in the county, close to the centre of the town and its main square. History The ...

in Čakovec. He is buried at the city cemetery in the same town.

Gallery

External links

Biography in the Croatian Biographical Lexicon
''(in Croatian)''
Bezeredi - renowned artist from Medjimurje
1898 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Croatian painters 20th-century Croatian sculptors People from Čakovec Vladimir Nazor Award winners 20th-century Hungarian sculptors 20th-century Hungarian painters Hungarians in Croatia History of Čakovec Yugoslav painters Croatian anti-fascists Abstract sculptors Hungarian abstract sculptors Ceramists Hungarian ceramists {{Croatia-painter-stub