miroslav's dog and miroslav

thanks wikimedia commons {PD:US}

When he painted his "Self-Portrait with Dog" in 1910, the Croatian artist Miroslav Kraljevic might already have known his days were numbered.  He died in 1913 of tuberculosis, only 27 years old, but in his short span he established himself as one of the prime forces behind modern art in Croatia.  Kraljevic created prints and sculpture as well as paintings, and studied in Munich and Paris during 1910-11 - dynamic years for the Symbolism and Jugendstil art movements.
He's noted for his intensity and his deft handling of light and dark spatial relationships, both of which are shown to sterling example in this self-portrait.  I was attracted to the way Kraljevic had framed his dog so neatly against his dark suit, an inescapable part of himself, even to the shades of brown they share in their hair and eyes.  I wish I knew the dog's name, but I can't turn it up anywhere.