Biography

Considered to be one of the greatest Croatian sculptors of the 20th century, Vojin Bakić was an influential and well-respected artist and designer for nearly five decades, especially during the 1950s and 1960s Croatian contemporary art scene. Born to a wealthy aristocratic family in Bjelovar, Croatia in 1915, Bakić showed great promise as an artist and builder even at a young age, as he crafted small homes for pigeons and rabbits in his boyhood home. As his father dying when he was only ten years old, Bakić grew up being raised by his mother, along with his four brothers and one sister. Initially, after high school, Bakić studied law, but after feeling dissatisfaction he shifted to studying sculpture at Art Academy in Zagreb where he studied with famed sculptor Frano Kršinić. During his studies, he became greatly interested in monumental sculptural works that communicated mythical ideas.

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As Croatia was taken over by Axis powers at the outset of World War II, Bakić and his four brothers were arrested by Ustaše forces, more than likely for simply being an ethnic-Serb, as many of this group were not only oppressed by the country's new fascist regime, but also deported and even killed. His four brothers were later executed at Jadovno concentration camp at Gospić, Croatia. While Bakić was also arrested by Ustaše soldiers, he was spared the same fate of his brothers -- his old teacher Frano Kršinić personally secured his release by writing a letter to the government. During the following year, 1942, Bakić married Ljubo Schneider, with whom he had his only child, Zoran.