Slava was born in 1877 in Ozalj, a small village in central Croatia and very close to the Slovenian border. She grew up surrounded by nature, which she enjoyed and which inspired most of her artistic work.
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Slava Raškaj, Jelen, watercolour, 1897 |
At the age of eight, she was sent to a school for Deaf children in Vienna, where she received her first lessons in drawing. At the age of 16, she returned to her hometown, where she was discovered by a local teacher who encouraged her family to send her to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, to continue studying drawing. When she was only 23, her paintings were exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition. She finally died with 29 years of tuberculosis after several years of depression and aggression.
In her short life she left an unforgettable legacy, becoming one of the most famous women in Croatia: the Croatian National Bank emitted in December 2000 a commemorative silver coin with her image, the Centre for Deaf Children and Youth "Slava Raškaj" in Zagreb has her name or some of her paintings are exhibited in the Modern Gallery of Zagreb (Moderna Galerija).
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Slava Raškaj, Lopoči, watercolour, 1890. |
Sources:
- Aware Women Artists (w/d): "Slava Raškaj". Retrieved from https://awarewomenartists.com/artiste/slava-raskaj/
- Đorović, T. (w/d): "Slava Raškaj". In Nova Akropola. Retrieved from https://nova-akropola.com/lijepe-umjetnosti/slikarstvo/slava-raskaj/
- Poivjest (w/d): "Rođena znamenita slikarica Slava Raškaj (1877.)". Retrieved from https://povijest.hr/nadanasnjidan/slava-raskaj-hrvatska-gluhonijema-slikarica-1877/
- The Famous People (w/d): "Slava Raškaj Biography". Retrieved from https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/slava-raskaj-5683.php
- Wikipedia (w/d): "Slava Raškaj". Retrieved from https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slava_Ra%C5%A1kaj