Dragutin Domjanić – Petrica Kerempuh and the Clever Donkey

In 1920 Dragutin Domjanić wrote the marionette play “Petrica Kerempuh i spametni osel” (Petrica Kerempuh and the Clever Donkey), considered one of the beginnings of professional puppetry in Croatia.

The exhibition presents rich documentary material on Domjanić’s life and work, including original books, poems, musical scores, photographs and other material from museum, theatre, library and private collections. A special section consists of the drawings of the Russian set and costume designer Pavel Petrovich Froman, as well as musical interpretations of Domjanić’s poems, thanks to which verses such as “Fala” and “Popevke sem slagal” have become part of Croatia’s lasting cultural and musical memory. This heritage enters into dialogue with new works by contemporary artists and students, including works by members of ULUPUH, the theatrical visions of Zlatko Bourek and spatial installations by students from Zagreb, Rijeka, Ljubljana and Belgrade, while a contemporary stage perspective on his legacy is offered by Boris Bakal, Stanislav Habjan and Rene Medvešek, connecting literature, theatre, performance and visual art.

The exhibition also places Domjanić’s work in a broader European context, linking it with Lotte Reiniger’s art of silhouette animation and raising the question of how a work created more than a century ago can once again become a stimulus for contemporary artistic creation.