In Rovinj, the exhibition “Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” opens: lesser-known works in focus for the centenary of the artist’s birth
The exhibition “Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” has opened at the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum, the second in a series of programs dedicated to Bruno Mascarelli marking the centenary of the birth of one of the most important artists connected with the Rovinj visual arts scene. The exhibition opened on Friday, April 24, 2026 at 7 p.m., and remains available to visitors until Sunday, June 14, 2026. According to information published by the organizers, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and admission to the exhibition is free. In this way, the program is positioned not only as a fitting homage to the artist, but also as a publicly accessible cultural event that seeks to bring closer the layers of Mascarelli’s oeuvre that have less often been at the center of exhibition displays.
The display titled “Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” focuses on lesser-known and more rarely exhibited works from the artist’s legacy. It is precisely this fact that gives the exhibition special value: instead of repeating an already established image of the author, the curatorial concept opens space for a view of works that speak about inner processes, creative turning points, private motifs and the atmosphere in which Mascarelli shaped his own visual language. The exhibition is held at the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum, an institution whose space is inseparably connected with the cultural memory of the town, but also with the artistic circle to which Mascarelli belonged. For those planning to come during the program, especially in the period of spring and early-summer cultural events, practical information about
accommodation in Rovinj may be useful when organizing a visit to the exhibition and the town.
Self-portraits as an entrance into the intimate space of the artist’s oeuvre
The exhibition opens with four self-portraits created shortly after Mascarelli’s arrival in Rovinj. This choice is not accidental, because in visual art the self-portrait rarely functions only as a depiction of physical appearance. In Mascarelli’s case, these are works that point to a period of artistic maturation, to a moment in which the young artist confronts his own formative experiences, a new space and the poetics that shaped him. After his education and artistic development in an academic environment, his arrival in Rovinj in 1949 marked the beginning of a long-lasting relationship with the town, which would remain one of the central points of his life and work.
In these early self-portraits, according to the exhibition announcement, one can recognize the encounter between the influence of the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and the Italian artistic poetics of the time. Such a combination opens an important question about Mascarelli’s position between different cultural and aesthetic circles. In that sense, Rovinj was more than a place of residence: it was an ambience in which Mediterranean light, the memory of space, the local artistic community and European currents met. The self-portraits therefore function not only as an introduction to the exhibition, but also as a kind of key to understanding an artist who builds his own identity between academic discipline, personal introspection and a strong sense of belonging to place.
It is especially important that the exhibition does not build its narrative exclusively around large representative works, but around those works that allow a more direct insight into the artist’s inner dynamics. In this context, the title “Intimate” can be read as the announcement of a different pace of viewing: the visitor is not invited only to observe completed artistic gestures, but to follow traces of reflection, maturation and personal motifs. Such an approach also corresponds to the character of the works from the legacy, because they often carry a different kind of energy from works that have already passed through numerous public interpretations.
The motif of the woman and the personal iconography of Bruno Mascarelli
Alongside the self-portraits, an important part of the exhibition is the motif of the woman in various forms of appearance. In the exhibition announcement, this motif is described as indispensable, which points to its important place in Mascarelli’s visual world. In the broader context of his oeuvre, the female figure can be understood as a space of symbolism, observation, closeness and artistic interpretation, and not merely as a thematic element. The exhibition, however, does not announce a spectacular reading of the motif, but places it in an intimate register, in connection with the personal and creative layers of the artist’s legacy.
Such an approach is also important for understanding the broader curatorial framework. When self-portraits, the motif of the woman, works from a more private sphere and objects that recall the artist’s everyday life are connected in one display, an exhibition emerges that does not seek only to show “what the artist painted”, but also “how he thought, lived and looked”. In this sense, “Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” functions as an exhibition that attempts to connect biographical and artistic traces without reducing the oeuvre to a mere chronology. The visitor is offered the possibility of reading the works through relationships: the artist toward himself, the artist toward the model, the artist toward space and the artist toward his own time.
Rovinj is a constant background in this story, but not as a decorative motif, rather as a creative framework. For decades, the town and its artistic community were connected with Mascarelli’s work, and his house at Grisia 46 is highlighted in the exhibition announcement as a special place of memory. Precisely for this reason, a visit to the exhibition can also be connected with a walk through the space that shaped the author’s everyday life. Those planning a cultural stay in the town can look for
accommodation near the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum, especially if they want to connect the exhibition with a tour of the old town center, Grisia and other spaces important for Rovinj’s cultural history.
Grisia 46 as a place of work, memory and contemplation
One of the most striking parts of the exhibition is dedicated to the house at the address Grisia 46, the space in which Mascarelli lived, created, socialized and reflected. In the exhibition announcement, this part is described as a homage to the space, but also as a reminiscence of the artist with a cigarette in his hand, in a state of deep contemplation. Such an image does not act as an anecdotal addition, but as an important part of understanding the artist’s habitus. The studio, house and everyday objects are often places where creativity touches private life, and in Mascarelli’s case this touch turns into exhibition material.
A special place in the display is occupied by assemblages made of empty cigarette boxes, created from the beginning of the 1990s to 2003. These are works that testify to time, habit, objects and reflection, but also to the artistic ability to transform everyday remains into a new form. Assemblage, as an artistic practice that involves joining found or used objects, in this case carries a distinctly personal charge. An empty cigarette box is not only material; it becomes a trace of presence, a sign of repetition, of the rhythm of days and of moments in which thought was shaped.
It is precisely this connection between everyday life and visual form that gives the exhibition a special density. Mascarelli is not presented exclusively through classical media, but also through objects that stand on the border between document and artwork. Such a choice may be particularly interesting to visitors who want to see how an artist’s legacy functions outside the usual representative categories of painting, drawing or large canvas. In this part of the exhibition, memory is not separated from material: it is literally embedded in objects created over a long period of time and carrying traces of the artist’s everyday life.
Two large canvases as the final emphasis of the display
The exhibition closes with two larger-format canvases created a decade before Mascarelli’s death. This final selection gives the display temporal breadth: from the early self-portraits connected with the arrival in Rovinj, through intimate motifs and assemblages, to later works that show the mature phase of the author’s creativity. Such a structure does not necessarily have to follow a strict chronology, but it clearly builds a path between the beginning, duration and later artistic summations. Ending with larger canvases allows the intimate material of the exhibition not to close itself into privacy, but to reopen toward a stronger painterly gesture and a larger format.
Large canvases in such a context can act as a kind of counterweight to the smaller, more personal and more rarely exhibited segments of the display. They remind us that Mascarelli was an author of broad range, an artist who worked in different circumstances and media, but also someone whose work cannot be reduced to one theme or one period. Because of this, the exhibition has a double role: it marks the centenary of his birth, but at the same time broadens public understanding of the oeuvre by opening works that are not necessarily the best known, but are important for a more complete image of the artist.
The curator of the exhibition is Elizabeta Rogović, and her concept evidently relies on the idea of approaching Mascarelli through closeness, atmosphere and less visible layers of the legacy. Instead of the exhibition being exclusively commemorative, it offers a research and interpretive framework in which the artist’s living space, personal objects, motifs and later canvases are connected into a whole. Such an approach is especially valuable in anniversary years, when there is a danger that an artistic oeuvre will be presented only in a ceremonial tone, without deeper entry into its complexity.
Mascarelli between Rovinj, academic education and European artistic movements
Bruno Mascarelli was born in 1926 in Sarajevo, and after his education and formative artistic experiences he came to Rovinj in 1949. Available biographical sources state that he studied at academies in Belgrade and Zagreb, and his arrival in Rovinj marked the beginning of a strong connection with the town and the local visual arts scene. Biographical accounts particularly emphasize that he gathered around himself a circle of fellow painters from Istria, Rijeka and the wider artistic environment, as well as that he was connected with the Rovinj art colony. In this sense, Mascarelli is important not only as an individual author, but also as a figure who belongs to the broader cultural fabric of the town.
At the beginning of the 1960s, according to available biographical data, he went to Milan, and then to Paris. This stage speaks of his openness toward European artistic centers and of the fact that his work should be viewed in a broader context, and not only through local belonging. Nevertheless, Rovinj remains the place to which his name constantly returns, whether through exhibitions, the memory of the artistic community, the house on Grisia or museum programs. It is precisely in this tension between local space and broader artistic movements that one may seek one of the reasons why Mascarelli’s oeuvre continues to encourage new readings.
This exhibition therefore has a broader meaning than that of a usual cultural event in the calendar. It reminds us that art history is not built only through large retrospectives and well-known works, but also through work with legacies, private collections, more rarely exhibited cycles and objects that at first glance may seem marginal. In the case of Bruno Mascarelli, such material opens space for understanding the artist as a person, interlocutor, resident of the town and creator who shaped his own iconography through decades of work.
The second exhibition in the anniversary series
“Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” is the second exhibition in the series marking the centenary of the artist’s birth. The first program in this anniversary framework, the exhibition “Hidden, the Curto Collection”, presented works from the private collection of Rovinj collector Argeo Curto. In this way, the anniversary series is built gradually, through different views of Mascarelli’s work and through different sources from which works come before the public. Such a model allows the artist not to be presented as a one-time event, but in layers, through several exhibition situations and thematic emphases.
For the cultural scene of Rovinj, such a program is important also because of the way it connects the museum, local memory, private collections and public space. Mascarelli’s oeuvre is not closed within a single institutional interpretation, but is shown as living material that can be read anew. This is especially important for artists strongly connected with a particular town: their works are often perceived as part of local identity, but serious curatorial work must also show their artistic autonomy, complexity and broader relevance. The exhibition “Intimate” tries precisely along this line to bring Mascarelli closer through works that are not necessarily the most recognizable, but may be crucial for understanding his inner world.
During the exhibition, Rovinj gains another cultural point that may interest visitors to art programs, researchers of local cultural heritage, lovers of modern painting and those who want to better understand the role of the town in the development of the Istrian visual arts scene. Since the exhibition lasts until June 14, it can be visited over almost two months, leaving enough space for planning a visit, including
accommodation offers in Rovinj for those who want to connect the exhibition with a longer stay in the town.
Practical information for visitors
The exhibition “Intimate, the Mascarelli Collection” is held at the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum, at the location Rovinj-Rovigno. The program is open from April 24 to June 14, 2026, and the published working hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The organizer is the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum – Museo della città di Rovinj-Rovigno. For additional information, museum contacts are available, telephone number +385 (0)52 816 720 and email address info@muzej-rovinj.hr. Admission to the exhibition is free, which makes this program accessible to a wider audience and visitors who come to Rovinj for cultural content.
The exhibition can also be seen as an invitation to slower looking. Works from the legacy, self-portraits, the motif of the woman, assemblages made of cigarette boxes and large later canvases together shape a story about an artist who was deeply connected with the space in which he lived, but also open to broader visual experiences. In the anniversary year, such a display has an important role: it not only confirms the already known place of Bruno Mascarelli in Rovinj and Croatian art, but also opens a view toward those works and traces that enable a more personal, quieter and more layered encounter with his oeuvre.
Sources:- Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum – official announcement of the exhibition “Exhibition of works by Bruno Mascarelli”, with dates, description of the display, curator and information about free admission (link)- Istra.hr – events calendar for the exhibition “INTIMATE - Mascarelli Collection”, with basic information about the date, location and program content (link)- Glas Istre – announcement of the exhibition on the occasion of the centenary of Bruno Mascarelli’s birth and the opening at the Rovinj-Rovigno Town Museum (link)- IstraIN – announcement of the opening of the exhibition “Intimate” and overview of the key elements of the display (link)- Croatian Museum of Tourism – biographical data on Bruno Mascarelli and the context of the exhibition “Bruno Mascarelli – the Victory of Art” (link)- Jewish Biographical Lexicon – biographical entry on Bruno Mascarelli, his education, arrival in Rovinj and artistic activity (link)
Find accommodation nearby
Creation time: 1 hours ago