History

History of the Academy

The Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Zagreb was founded in 1907 as the Royal Provincial Higher Education School for Arts and Crafts.

From its foundation to the present day, the Academy has played an important role in the development of Croatian art, art education and cultural space. Throughout its history, it has changed its structure and name, developed new study programs and followed changes in artistic practices and society.

The first teachers of the Academy were prominent Croatian artists such as Robert Frangeš Mihanović, Rudolf Valdec, Robert Auer, Oton Iveković, Bela Čikoš Sesija, Menci Clement Crnčić and Branko Šenoa.

Through more than a century of activity, the Academy has developed various artistic and teaching directions. Today, it operates through several departments that include the fields of painting, sculpture, graphics, animated film and new media, conservation and restoration of works of art, and art pedagogy.

The history of the Academy is connected with the history of Croatian art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Numerous important artists, teachers and researchers worked at the Academy, and its activities still connect artistic heritage, contemporary practices and new forms of artistic research.