Maksimilijan Vanka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maxo Vanka
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Vanka in 1946
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| Born |
Maksimilijan Vanka
11 May 1889 Zagreb, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
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| Died | 2 February 1963 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Croatian/American |
| Known for | Painting |
Maksimilijan "Maxo" Vanka (born May 11, 1889 – died February 2, 1963) was a talented Croatian-American artist. He is most famous for the amazing murals he painted in 1937 and 1941. These artworks can be found at the St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, Pennsylvania.
Contents
About Maxo Vanka
His Early Life and Education
Maxo Vanka was born in Zagreb in 1889. He came from noble families in Austria-Hungary. To avoid a scandal, he was raised by a peasant woman in the village of Kupljenovo. When he was eight, his grandfather found him and sent him to a castle. There, he received a good education.
Vanka studied art at the College of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. His teacher was Bela Čikoš Sesija. He also studied in Brussels with Jean Delville and Constant Montald. During World War I, he worked with the Belgian Red Cross. He chose this because he was a pacifist, meaning he was against war.
After the war, Vanka became a professor at the College of Arts and Crafts in 1923. He taught drawing and fresco painting. In 1931, he married Margaret Stetten, an American woman. They met while she was traveling. In 1935, Maxo, Margaret, and their daughter Peggy moved to New York City.
The Famous Millvale Murals
After moving to the United States, Vanka showed his art in New York and Pittsburgh. However, he didn't earn much money. In 1937, his friend Louis Adamic helped him get a big job. This job was to paint murals for St. Nicholas Church. This church was for Croatian people in Millvale, Pennsylvania.
Vanka worked on the murals in two stages. The first was in 1937, and the second in 1941. He painted 25 fresco murals in the church. These paintings covered the walls and ceiling. They covered a huge area, about 4500 square feet (418 square meters).
Vanka painted the first set of murals from April to June 1937. He worked very long hours, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning. During this time, he believed the church was haunted by a ghost. His friend Louis Adamic even wrote about it in a magazine article. Despite this, Vanka finished the murals on time.
These murals were very special. They showed scenes of everyday workers inside a church. This was unusual for the time. People loved the murals, and Vanka became famous for a while.
Anti-War Messages in Art
Vanka was asked to return and paint a second set of murals. These were finished on November 16, 1941. World War II was happening in Europe then. Because of this, the new murals had strong anti-war messages.
When all the murals were done, newspapers praised them. The Pittsburgh Press said the church would be a "must-see" place. The Sun-Telegraph wrote that Vanka was changing religious art. Vanka himself called the murals "my contribution to America."
The murals mix traditional religious art with social themes. They show the experiences of Croatian Americans. These themes include war, unfairness, and how workers were treated. Vanka included images of Mary, Queen of Heaven, above the altar. He also painted the Ascension of Jesus and the Four Evangelists on the ceiling.
Other murals showed scenes from the Old and New Testament. There were also images of saints. Vanka also painted scenes about Croatian immigrants. One mural shows Immigrant Mother Raises Her Sons for American Industry. In it, Croatian women are sad over a young man who died in a mining accident.
Vanka also painted about unfairness in America. The American Capitalist shows a rich businessman eating a fancy meal. He ignores a person begging for food. Injustice shows a mysterious figure holding a scale. On one side, a loaf of bread is outweighed by gold. Vanka was a pacifist, so he included strong anti-war images. One shows a crucified Jesus being hurt by a soldier's bayonet. Another shows the Virgin Mary breaking a soldier's rifle.
Later Life and Passing
After the Millvale murals, Vanka mostly created charcoal and pastel drawings. Many of these showed places and people he met while traveling. He also painted oil paintings, often landscapes and still lifes.
Vanka mostly stopped showing his art after World War II. He had a small show in 1957 with paintings of fruits, flowers, and landscapes. Because of this, much of his later work is not well known.
In his later years, Vanka lived on a farm near Doylestown. He taught art at the National Agricultural College. He passed away in 1963 while swimming off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Maxo Vanka's Legacy
In 1968, Vanka's wife and daughter gave 47 of his artworks to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. These works were first shown at Vanka's old summer home. Later, they moved to a gallery in Zagreb. In 2022, plans were made to restore the collection and move it back to his villa.
After he died, Vanka and his art were mostly forgotten in the United States. But since the 1990s, people have started to notice his work again. His first big show in the U.S. was in 2001. It was held at the James A. Michener Art Museum.
In 1991, a group called the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka was started. Their goal is to protect and care for the murals at St. Nicholas Church. This group offers tours of the murals every Saturday.
Maxo Vanka was mentioned in books by Louis Adamic. He even inspired Adamic's 1936 novel, Cradle of Life. The book tells the story of a character whose early life is like Vanka's. Vanka was also honored in a play called Gift to America. This play was written in 1981 by Professor David P. Demarest.
In 2012, a band called Action Camp made a short film. It showed their music performed in front of the Maxo Vanka murals. This was a special event inspired by his art.
Vanka also taught Ambroz Testen about watercolor painting. He had a big impact on Testen's art later on.
