(Mostar 1897-1977 Cotignac)
Portrait of Silvia Villars and Her Two Children Jean-Pierre and Liselotte, signed Uzelac, oil on canvas, 125 x 110 cm, framed

Provenance:
Dobiaschofsky, Bern, 12 November 2004, lot 1046;
European Private Collection.

Enclosed:
Five framed drawings, a study to the present Lot and portraits by Silvia, Liselotte, Jean Pierre und Maurice Villars.

Milivoj Uzelac was born to a Serbian family in Mostar, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. In 1912 the family moved to Zagreb. There he studied under Oton Ivekoviì at the College for Arts and Crafts. He moved to Prague during the First World War, where he worked in the painter Jan Preisler’s studio. After the war he returned to Zagreb, where he exhibited at the Spring Salon. In 1923 he moved to Paris. There he painted extensively, receiving commissions from influential collectors. He exhibited at the autumn Salons. He painted portraits and scenes from private life, such as the present lot commissioned by Maurice Villars (1891-1982) to the artist in 1924. The sitter is Maurice Villars’s wife Silvia (1892-1968) with her son Jean-Pierre (born in 1919) and her daughter Liselotte (born in 1921). This portrait creates a feeling of intimacy, a strong feature of his painting style. Though much of his life was spent in France, Uzelac continued to maintain links with the Croatian art scene, exhibiting in Zagreb.