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This mug features The Firebird/Petrushka and Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew, from Boris Bućan's 1983 poster series for the Croatian National Theatre in Split.
In all his theatrical posters, Bućan’s imagery does not represent his interpretation of a specific scene within a performance but his response to the spirit of the production. This is perhaps most evident in this poster for William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, in which three riders in hunting pinks (traditional fox-hunting attire) gather in the foreground, accompanied by a trio of hounds. This six-sheet silkscreen incorporates a postmodernist range of bold patterns, similar to those found on Tunisian kilims (woven rugs) that inspired artists like Henri Matisse. Rather than relying on the rectilinear flatness of the designs, however, Bućan rotates them on multiple axes to create the illusion of three-dimensional space.
The most iconic image in Bućan’s oeuvre, The Firebird/Petrushka advertises paired performances of two one-act ballets by Igor Stravinsky. In the earlier fairytale, the mythical Firebird helps a prince defeat an evil sorcerer and free a group of princesses, while the later one chronicles the ill-fated love triangle among three puppets that have been brought to life by a magician. To represent the Firebird, Bućan created a hybrid creature with an avian head and neck on a female body. She stands in a heroic pose in red stilettos as she strides with a raised fist toward an unseen enemy. Bućan frequently incorporated and modernized art-historical motifs and styles in his posters. Here, the figure’s pose and two-dimensional profile suggest ancient Egyptian relief sculpture, while the large leaves in the background are similar to patterns designed by artists of the Vienna Secession.
Boris Bućan was a Croatian artist and graphic designer of Ukrainian-Jewish heritage whose long career began during the late 1960s in Zagreb. Not committed to a single style, he continuously developed his artistic practice, often appearing to anticipate art movements that emerged outside what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
11 ounce mug. Measures 5 x 4 x 3.5 inches.