Published on 11/21/2007

Zdravko Dučmelić (1923-1989), outstanding Croatian - Argentinean painter, masterfully illustrated a famous book "Laberintos", written by Jorge Luis Borges, with his surreal, quasi-metaphysical works.

Outstanding Croatian - Argentinean painter

Zdravko Dučmelić, autoportrait

Zdravko Dučmelić (1923-1989), outstanding Croatian artist born in Vinkovci, studied painting in Zagreb, Rome and Madrid (Real Academia de San Fernando), and in 1949 emigrated to Argentina. From 1963 to 1966 he was director (i.e., the dean) of Escuela Superior de Artes de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.

Dučmelić masterfully illustrated a famous book "Laberintos", written by Jorge Luis Borges (Ed. De Arte Gaglianone, Buenos Aires, 1983), with his surreal, quasi-metaphysical works (...el pintor preferido de Borges).

He also made various portraites of Borges that were exhibited in 1987. In 1980 Dučmelić has been invited by Argentienan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) to realize expositions of his works in several museums in Japan: in Tokio, Kyoto, Aomori and Kamatura.

He had exhibitions in Panama, Peru (Lima), Chile (Santiago), Mexico, Cuba (Habana), Canada (Ottawa) and China (Bejing). In 1983 he had exhibitions in his homeland, in Zagreb and Rijeka. For more information see El Golem and Arroyo.

An interview with Dučmelić in Croatian has been published in Hrvatska revija: Razgovor sa Z. Ducmelicem. Hrvatska revija. 38 (1988) 4. - 651-668.
One of his works of art has been bought by H. Kissinger (Hrvatska revija. 32 (1982) 1, p. 129.).

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