As part of the Franciscan monastery Humac, Ljubuški, there is a collection of art which, with its permanent exhibition called “Mother”, today numbers slightly more than 800 works.
The official opening of the Gallery’s permanent exhibition took place on the eve of Mother’s Day – 2004.
Curator Danijela Grbavac said that the idea of establishing the “Mother” collection came from dr. Fr. Ljudevit Rupčić and Dr. fra Viktor Nuić.
“The ‘Mother’ gallery, officially opened in 2004, began its work years earlier, in 2000. Brother Ljudevit Rupčić wrote the text ‘Thoughts of Mother’ for the recital, inspired by Mother’s Day. The publishing house ‘Ziral’ suggested publication, and the text was illustrated by the Russian painter and sculptor Aleksandar Zvyagin. Zvyagin, however, was so inspired by the text that he painted large works, which matched with thoughts in the text,” reminded the curator.
She added that in the beginning the collection numbered about 250 works of art, of which 140 were sculptures, while the rest of the collection consisted of paintings, drawings and graphics.
“Over the years, the collection has grown and today numbers more than 800 works. Due to the inadequacy of space for such an impressive collection, not all works are in the exhibition space. The works arrived from different parts of the world, either by purchase or donation. The collection today has works by Slavic sculptors, Croatian sculptors of Jewish origin, as well as works by authors of the Islamic faith and several authors from Italy. A significant part of the collection is also made up of works from the Congo. These are several sculptures in wood and stone, oil on canvas, relief on copper sheet and an interesting work made of ivory with scenes from everyday life. These works arrived at the Humac as donations from the Franciscans who worked as missionaries in the Congo,” said Grbavac.
She added that the majority of the collection consists of works by artists of Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian origin.
Among them, the works of Ivan Meštrović, Juraj Škarpa, Stipe Sikirica, Aleksandar Zvjagin, Gabrijelo Jurkić, Josip Boteri-Dini and many others stand out.
According to her, all of them, sculptors and painters, celebrate one motive with their work – the motive of the mother.
“The works of art are a thank you for the generosity, patience and suffering of our mothers, but they are also dedicated to Mary, who was taken up to heaven – the refuge of children and adults,” concluded the curator of the Franciscan gallery “Majka”.
About 4,000 people visit this gallery annually.
By the way, Mother’s Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating mothers and motherhood, which is celebrated in most countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. This day is an opportunity to express love, gratitude and respect for mothers, grandmothers and all women who play a maternal role in our lives.
Mother’s Day 2025 is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The founder of today’s Mother’s Day is Anna Marie Jarvis. On May 12, 1907, in Grafton, West Virginia, USA, she organized the first Mother’s Day celebration in honor of her deceased mother, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis. This initiative soon grew into a movement, and thanks to her persistence, Mother’s Day was declared an official holiday in the United States of America in 1914, Fena news agency writes.
Photo: Fena
