The Hlebine Painting School is common title for all paintings of naive expression coming from Hlebine and surrounding villages in Podravina (the northern plain part of Croatia by the river Drava). The name appeared for the first time in the newspaper The Zagreb News in 1932 in the article, which spoke about work of Krsto Hegedušić with peasant-artists in Hlebine. His work was granted by the expansion of the populist ideas, especially of cultural politics of the HSS (Croatian Peasants' Party), which encouraged ruralism, peasants' cultural and literal movements.
At the same time the nationally disintegrated intellectuals demanded something to be recognized as «Croatian art expression». Working on such demands K.Hegedušić defined the meaning have «our» or «plebian» art in 1925, as;» ... an expression, which should be nationally independent, free from the European influence and social at the same time.» 1927 he painted in Paris the picture «There five of us in the vineyard's hut» using temperas and technique of painting on the glass. This technique, colours, typology and theme would represent the formula of the beginning period of the Hlebine Painting School. He started working with Ivan Generalić and Franjo Mraz, another peasant from Hlebine, in 1930, but his demand for bringing art to higher level in Croatia in general, was made one of the aims of artistic association «Zemlja» (Earth).
Ivan Generalić and Franjo Mraz represented their drawings and water paintings on the third exhibition of «Zemlja» in Zagreb in 1931.
After banning the activities of «Zemlja» group (1935), the peasant-painters from Hlebine continued to organize exhibitions; F. Mraz exhibited his works alone in Koprivnica and together with I. Generalić he opened the first exhibition of the Croatian peasant-painters in Zagreb in 1936.
After World War the Second I. Generalić became the central person of the Hlebine School. He painted continuously, had exhibition in Croatia and abroad. All this encouraged young people in Hlebine and its surroundings to continue the tradition of painting on glass. He was the first who taught the so-called second generation of painters and they are F. Filipović, D. Gaži, M. Kovačić, I. Večernaj, I. Lacković – Croata and J. Generalić.
In the works of the Hlebine School we can distinguish two stylistic and thematic periods. In the pre-war period, under the influence of the «Zemlja» association and K. Hegedušić, socio-critical themes prevailed as the reflection of social contradictions and our reality.
In the post-war period I. Generalić and others continued to develop ideas of the Hlebine School (two-dimensional surface, open character of local colours, safe and clear drawings), but they also brought many changes. Themes still had the characteristics of the area where they were done, but they were much more created by the imagination and invention. The romantic concept of the Podravina landscapes, lyrical idle life in the country, metaphor and fiction appears in their work.
Popularity of the Hlebine School on the international level contributed to taking part of its representatives on the Biennale in Sao Paolo 1955 and on the world exhibition “ 50 Years of The Modern Art” in Bruxelles in 1958.

Prepared by
Ivan Žarković
history of art teacher