New exhibition: KVIZ COLLECTION – Little Treasury of Croatian Painting

15 April – 29 June 2025

The collection of Dr. Boris and Jelva Kviz is one of the most respected yet lesser-known collections of modern Croatian painting. It consists of 68 works, mostly exceptional achievements from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, including notable pieces such as the “Self-portrait” by Josip Račić from 1906/7, which is also individually protected as a cultural asset, and “Five Senses” by Vlaho Bukovac from 1898, which is also under the protection of the Republic of Croatia. The collection contains several works by Croatian modern artists, spanning from Vlaho Bukovac, Bela Csikos Sesia, Ferdo Kovačević, Menci Clement Crnčić, Emanuel Vidović, Miroslav Kraljević and the Munich Group, Milivoj Uzelac and the Prague Group, to Ljubo Babić, Jerolim Miše, Miljenko Stančić, and others.

The paintings from the Kviz Collection are regularly loaned for retrospectives and other exhibitions. The owners of the collection, the distinguished university professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb, Boris Kviz, and his wife Jelva, began collecting the paintings in the early 1970s. All works and their provenance are properly documented and bibliographed. As an institution that has been loaning works from the Kviz family for many years, we decided to present this small but exceptional private collection to the public, and we are grateful to the collectors for agreeing to this collaboration.

Exhibitions about Zagreb collections are frequently included in the programme of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, and they have generated significant interest from both the public and the media. By exploring collecting as a unique feature of our local environment, with no equivalent in the region, this exhibition highlights this important and valuable tradition.

The collection is exceptionally well-preserved and will be a true gem for visitors of all generations.

Exhibition authors and curators: Dr. Petra Vugrinec and Danijela Markotić.