An Easter egg painted in a naive manner
Until April 14th, all the guests in Zagreb that visit the main square, Ban Josip Jelačić Square, or St. Mark's Square in the Upper Town can expect to see an additional attraction: a huge Easter egg painted in a naive manner. This is a result of the cooperation between the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb and Koprivnica-Križevci County.
The Easter egg on display in the main city square is the work of three artists’ associations in Koprivnica-Križevci County, the area known in the world as the cradle of Croatian naive painting. The egg is made of Plexiglas, it is 2.05 meters tall, 1.5 meters wide, and together with its stand, it weighs 120 kilograms. Painted on the egg, in a naive style, is a story about Zagreb throughout the four seasons. The president of the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb, Ivo Jelušić, commented, “Tourists often remark about the beauty of Zagreb, but they especially emphasize that the city is the most beautiful in the spring, and attractive displays such as this will certainly add to that splendor during the upcoming holiday period”. He also expressed his hope that this Easter egg will be the beginning of a tradition.
In addition to Zagreb, since the beginning of April, Easter eggs have been put on display in other Croatian cities, including Varaždin, Koprivnica, Dubrovnik and others and also in cities abroad, such as Budapest, Bratislava, Barcelona and Bilbao. The eggs have even taken a trip across the ocean to New York. “Putting these Easter eggs on display are part of the project “Easter Eggs from the Heart”, which is the brainchild of the Tourist Board of Koprivnica-Križevci County. This is an exceptionally powerful way to say happy Easter, and at the same time, a promotional message and invitation to come to Croatia,” said the director of the Tourist Board of Koprivnica-Križevci County, Zdravko Mihevc.
The prefect of Koprivnica-Križevci County, Darko Koren, has pointed out that the project “Easter Eggs from the Heart” is an attempt to rekindle naïve art. For almost two decades, the authentic Croatian painting style has maintained a somewhat low profile, quite undeservedly. According to him, the time has come for this art form to reclaim its place as an artistic brand and regain its value as a tourist and overall Croatian attraction.
The project “Easter Eggs from the Heart” is supported by the Croatian Tourist Board and is considered very important in terms of promoting Croatian tourism and the country in general.