Vjekoslav Karas (19 May 1821 - 5 July 1858) was a Croatian painter, considered a pioneer of a new era of Croatian painting and art in general.
Life
Born in Karlovac, Croatia, Karas was sent to be educated in Italy in 1838.[1] While in Rome, he drew inspiration from biblical and religious themes, painting Mother with Moses on the river bank. While in Italy he developed a love for music and learned to play the flute and the guitar while composing songs in both Italian and Croatian.[1] He began focusing his craft on portraits, painting Roman woman playing a lute and Roman commoner before returning to Karlovac in 1848.[2] Upon his return, he continued painting portraits and began painting local country life and local folk.[1] He moved to Zagreb and began teaching. From 1851-18522 he traveled to Bosnia where he painted a portrait of Ottoman field marshal and governor Omer-paša Latas and his daughter.[3]
Karas suffered periodically from depression and had even attempted suicide.[4] He briefly stayed with bishopJosip Juraj Strossmayer in Đakovo, but left soon after his suicide attempt.[4] Still suffering from depression and living in poverty, Karas committed suicide by drowning in the Korana river in his native Karlovac.[1]
