Ante Kostović, Nude, plaster, 57 x 54 x 48 cm, inv. no. 4083, National Gallery of B&H

Ante Kostović

He enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1937 under Ivan Meštrović and graduated in 1941 under Frano Kršinić. In a refugee camp in El Shatt, he led a sculpture and theater group from 1944 to 45. He worked as a teacher at the Teachers’ School in Zagreb (1945-47), the High School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo (1952-56), the Industrial Stonemasonry School in Pučišća on the island of Brač (he was the Headmaster in the same time), and from 1963 to 1973 at the Academy of Pedagogy in Rijeka, the Sculpture Department. His work was realistic, from tiny plastics to big monuments, and his favorite themes were portrait and human figure.