Dalibor Prančević

PhD, associate professor
Department of Art History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split

dalibor@ffst.hr

Dalibor Prančević is an art historian whose research interest focuses mainly on the issues of art and visual culture of the twentieth century and today. He started his professional career in 2001 as a museum curator at the Meštrović Gallery in Split, and in 2008 he secured a professional position in the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split, where he remains employed to this day. He has developed a particular interest for the artistic work and life of Ivan Meštrović, one of the most prominent Croatian artists of the twentieth century. Thus, he completed his doctoral dissertation on some very important aspects of Ivan Meštrović’s oeuvre and his artistic and social establishment (Ivan Meštrović within the Context of Expressionism and Art Déco). He wrote the book Ivan Meštrović and the Culture of Modernism: Expressionism and Art Déco (2017) and co-authored the book Ivan Meštrović and the Czechs: Examples of the Croatian-Czech Cultural and Political Reciprocity (2018). He also penned the book, Frano Missia. Itinerant Painter: Chronoscript of an Artistic Journey (2019), which valorises the artistic work of the titular Croatian artist. Furthermore, he edited a book that deals with the issues of modern sculpture titled Manifestations of Modern Sculpture in Croatia: Protagonists, Artworks, Contexts (2021), in which he also published his author’s contribution.

He spearheaded and authored the scientific research project CROSCULPTURE – Sculpture on the Crossroads Between Socio-political Pragmatism, Economic Possibilities and Aesthetical Contemplation (1 March 2017 – 28 February 2020) funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. As an associate, he has participated in these scientific projects to date: Modern and Contemporary Artist Networks, Art Groups and Art Associations: Organisation and Communication Models of Artist Collaborative Practices in the 20th and 21st Century (2014–2018; project leader: Ljiljana Kolešnik, PhD, Institute of Art History, Zagreb, Croatia; funding source: Croatian Science Foundation) and East Adriatic Art Themes: Art, Politics, Maritime Experience (2008–2013; project leader: Prof Ivana Prijatelj-Pavičić, PhD, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Croatia, funding source: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia). In addition, he is also a member of the SEA-EU Research Plan Task Force (2022–2023) on the reSEArch-EU Project (reinforcing SustainablE Actions, resilience, cooperation and harmonisation across and by the SEA-EU Alliance).

He has authored several exhibitions showcasing Ivan Meštrović’s works (retrospective exhibition Drawings of Ivan Meštrović from the Holdings of the Ivan Meštrović Gallery in Split, Split and Zagreb, 2004, The Lithographs by Ivan Meštrović, Slavonski Brod, Zagreb, Dubrovnik 2008). Additionally, he co-authored the exhibitions Corporeality and Eroticism in the works of Ivan Meštrović in Zagreb (2016) and Corporeality and Eroticism in Sculpture in Ljubljana (2018).

He has received several prestigious scholarships from institutions such as the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds and the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; the most recent of which being the Fulbright Post-doctoral grant for the project Ivan Meštrović and the Anglophone Cultures / Example of the Cross-cutting of Various Cultural, Historic and Artistic Experiences (USA, 2018). The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split honoured him with the annual prize for scientific work in 2022 in the scientific field of humanities.

He regularly publishes scientific papers and essays related to modern and contemporary art and visual culture. He has authored many monographic exhibition catalogues. He curates independent exhibitions on contemporary art and contributes written pieces on the subject.