Vanja Radauš: dr. Matko Laginja

(inauguracija biste 1970. godine)

Matko Laginja, preporoditelj, pravnik, političar i pisac (Klana kraj Kastva, 10. VIII. 1852 – Zagreb, 18. III. 1930). Gimnaziju je završio u Rijeci, studij prava započeo u Zagrebu, a završio 1875. u Grazu gdje je i doktorirao 1885. godine. Od 1890. bio je odvjetnik u Puli. U ratnim prilikama, izbjegavajući režimska šikaniranja i moguću konfinaciju, napustio je Pulu i preselio se u Zagreb 1915. U mladosti je prihvatio politički program Ante Starčevića, a zajedno s pravašima Vjekoslavom Spinčićem i Matkom Mandićem odlučno se suprotstavljao talijanskom nacionalizmu u Istri. Godine 1882. bio je urednik lista Naša sloga. Kao član Hrvatsko-slovenske narodne stranke za zastupnika u Istarskom saboru izabran je prvi put 1883. te je biran do kraja njegova djelovanja (1914). Bio je prvi zastupnik koji je u sabornici u Poreču (21. VIII. 1883) pokušao održati govor na hrvatskome, u čemu ga je spriječila talijansko-talijanaška većina. Od 1891. do 1901. i od 1907. do 1918. bio je zastupnik u Carevinskom vijeću u Beču. Kao odvjetnik mnoge je siromahe zastupao besplatno na sudovima, a boreći se protiv lihvara, pokrenuo je osnivanje pučkih štedno-kreditnih zadruga (posujilnice). Prvu posujilnicu osnovao je u Puli (1891.), a zatim i udrugu istarskih zadruga Gospodarsku svezu za Istru (1903). Kako bi hrvatski jezik bio nastavni barem u privatnim osnovnim školama, s istomišljenicima je 1893. osnovao Družbu sv. Ćirila i Metoda za Istru sa zadaćom osnivanja takve hrvatske škole te joj isprva bio tajnik. Sudjelujući u radu Carevinskoga vijeća zagovarao je sporazum s talijanskim liberalima (1908), dok se tijekom Prvoga svjetskoga rata zauzimao za politiku Jugoslavenskoga kluba zastupajući pravo južnoslavenskih narodâ na samoodređenje unutar Austro-Ugarske Monarhije. 1917. i 1918. bio je predsjednik Starčevićeve stranke prava, a 1918. i 1919. povjerenik za Istru u Narodnome vijeću u Zagrebu. Nakon Prvoga svjetskoga rata bio je član Privremenoga narodnog predstavništva (1919 – 1920), član Zakonodavne narodne skupštine te ban Hrvatske i Slavonije (1920). Nakon Rapalskoga ugovora (1920) bio je predsjednik Narodnoga kluba (1920 – 1922), a potom i Hrvatske zajednice. Premda je bio izabran u Ustavotvornu skupštinu, 1921. napustio je njezin rad zbog izrazite centralističke politike. Talijansku okupaciju i politiku u Istri te posljedičnu  snažnu emigraciju Hrvata doživio je bolno, znatno se angažirajući oko istarskih emigranata. Kad je 1922. u Zagrebu osnovano emigrantsko Prosvjetno i potporno društvo Istra, postao je njegov prvi predsjednik. Bavio se i znanstvenim radom, poglavito pravnom poviješću i kulturnim naslijeđem Istre. Stručne je radove objavljivao u listovima Naša sloga, Pravo (Zadar) i Vienac.

Matku Laginji posvećene su ulice (obale i trgovi) u mnogim istarskim i više hrvatskih gradova. Njegovo ime nose osnovna škola u Zagrebu, kulturno-umjetničko društvo u Svetom Lovreču, mješoviti pjevački zbor u Klani i dr.

Poprsje Matka Laginje u Parku istarskih velikana od ostalih odvaja način izradbe: u dnu nije ravno, već je trokutno odrezano, izvedeno je samo prednjim dijelom torza, a u šupljinu stražnje strane usađen je lučno svinut držač. Formalnom obradom dobiven je individualiziran portret muškarca četvrtastog, širokog lica, visokog čela i naglašenih, dugih brkova. Krepak fizički izgled emanira i psihološki profil odlučnog, čvrstog i samouvjerenog muškarca karakterne osobnosti izgrađene na važnim životnim postignućima.

Vanja Radauš, akademski kipar, slikar i književnik (Vinkovci, 29. IV. 1906 – Zagreb, 24. IV. 1975). U specijalki Ivana Meštrovića diplomirao je 1930. kiparstvo na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu na kojoj je od 1945. do umirovljena 1969. bio redovni profesor. Član je udruženja likovnih umjetnika Zemlja (djelatno od 1929. do zabrane 1935), a programska načela ove udruge ostala su njegov trajan ljudski i umjetnički odabir. U vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata sudjelovao je u narodnooslobodilačkom pokretu. Od 1947. bio je član Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, a od 1950. vodio je svoju majstorsku radionicu. Bogatim opusom skulptura i spomeničkih realizacija te likovnim izrazima i dosezima uvrštava se u jednog od najznamenitijih likovnih autora Hrvatske. U Pazinu se radovi ovoga barda nalaze u Parku istarskih velikana, današnjoj Osnovnoj školi Vladimira Nazora te u Galerijskoj zbirci Muzeja grada Pazina.

dr.sc. Matko Laginja

Sculptor: Vanja Radauš, inauguration of the bust:1970

Matko Laginja was a revivalist, lawyer, politician and writer (Klana near Kastav, August 10, 1852 – Zagreb, March 18, 1930). He finished high school in Rijeka and began his law studies in Zagreb finishing in 1875 in Graz, where he received his doctorate in 1885. From 1890, he was a lawyer in Pula. During the war in 1915, to avoid regime harassment and possible confinement, he left Pula and moved to Zagreb. In his youth, he accepted the political program of Ante Starčević, and together with the members of the Party of Rights, Vjekoslav Spinčić and Matko Mandić, he resolutely opposed Italian nationalism in Istria. In 1882, he was the editor of the Naša sloga newspaper. As a member of the Croatian-Slovenian People’s Party, he was elected to the Istrian Parliament for the first time in 1883 and remained there until the end of its action (1914). He was the first representative to try to give a speech in Croatian in the parliament in Poreč (August 21, 1883), which was prevented by the Italian Autonomist Party majority. He was a representative at the Imperial Council in Vienna from 1891 to 1901 and then from 1907 to 1918. As a lawyer, he represented many poor people pro bono both in the courts, and fighting against usurers and he initiated the establishment of people’s savings and credit cooperatives (loan companies). He founded the first loan company in Pula (1891), and then the association of Istrian cooperatives Gospodarska sveza za Istru (1903).  In 1893 he founded the Družba sv. Ćirila i Metoda za Istru society to enable the Croatian language to be taught at least in private elementary schools, with the task of establishing such Croatian schools, and initially was its secretary. Participating in the work of the Imperial Council, he advocated an agreement with the Italian liberals (1908), while during World War I he stood up for the policy of the Yugoslav Club, representing the right of South Slavic peoples to self-determination within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1917–18 he was the president of Starčević’s Party of Rights, and in 1918–19 he was the commissioner for Istria in the National Council in Zagreb. After World War I, he was a member of the Provisional People’s Representation (1919–20), a member of the Legislative National Assembly and the Ban of Croatia and Slavonia (1920). After the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), he was the president of the National Club (1920–22), and then of the Croatian Union party. Although he was elected to the Constituent Assembly, he left in 1921 because of his pronounced centralist politics. He experienced Italian occupation and politics in Istria and the consequent strong emigration of Croats painfully, becoming significantly involved with Istrian emigrants. He became the first president when the emigrant Educational and Support Society Istria was founded in Zagreb in 1922. He was also engaged in scientific work, mainly in the legal history and cultural heritage of Istria. He published professional works in the Naša Sloga, Pravo (Zadar) and Vienac newspapers. Streets (coasts and squares) are dedicated to him in many Istrian and several Croatian cities. An elementary school in Zagreb, a cultural and artistic society in Sveti Lovreč, as well as a mixed choir in Klana and others are named after him.

The bust of Matko Laginja in the Park istarskih velikana differs from the others in the way it was made: it is not straight at the bottom but triangularly cut, it was created with just the front part of the torso, an arched holder is inserted into the cavity of the back. Formal processing resulted in an individualized portrait of a man: a square, broad face, high forehead and an accentuated, long moustache. A strong physical appearance also emanates the psychological profile of a determined, firm and self-confident man, a character personality built on important life achievements.

Vanja Radauš was an academic sculptor, painter and writer (Vinkovci, April 29, 1906 – Zagreb, April 24, 1975).  He graduated from Ivan Meštrović’s special school in 1930 in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he was a full-time professor from 1945 until his retirement in 1969. A member of the Zemlja association of fine artists, he was active from 1929 until its ban in 1935; the program principles of this association remained his permanent human and artistic choice. During the Second World War, he participated in the National Liberation Movement, and from 1947 he was a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, from 1950 he ran his master’s workshop. With his rich oeuvre of sculptures and monumental realizations, his artistic expressions and achievements, he is listed among the most important artists in Croatia. In Pazin, the works of this bard can be found in the Park istarskih velikana, today’s Vladimir Nazor Primary School and in the Gallery collection of the Town of Pazin Museum.