Name of Object:

Ivan V Drašković (about 1660–Varaždin, Croatia, 4.1.1733)

Location:

Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia

Holding Museum:

Croatian History Museum

Original Owner:

The Kulmer family, Šestine near Zagreb

Date of Object:

1732/33

Artist(s) / Craftsperson(s):

Unknown

Museum Inventory Number:

HPM/PMH 2421

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

H: 90 cm; w: 69 cm

Provenance:

The Kulmer family

Type of object:

Painting (portrait)

Period of activity:

First half of the 18th century

Place of production:

Croatia (?)

Description:

For generations the Drašković family played an important part in the political and social life of Croatia. Counts from the 17th century (1631), numerous members of the family became bans (viceroys) and high-ranking military officers. The family's wealth comprised numerous estates, among which were Trakošćan and Klenovnik castles in northwest Croatia. Ivan V Drašković, son of vice-marshal Ivan IV and Marija Magdalena Nádasdy, studied in Varaždin, Vienna and Bologna before returning to Croatia in 1695. In 1699, he became Grand Sheriff of the Valpovo and Baranja County, and shortly after became a royal councillor. Having excelled militarily, promotion to General followed in 1708 and the Croatian parliament named him Commander of the Croatian National Troops. He actively supported the proposal to ensure the right of succession of the Habsburg female line (Croatian Pragmatic Sanction) in 1712. He fought as vice-marshal (podmaršal) on the Turkish border. Drašković was acting ban (viceroy) from 1718 to 1732 but only officially appointed to the post on 2 February 1732. He died suddenly the following year.
The portrait, painted some time shortly after Drašković officially became ban in 1732, depicts the elderly count as a nobleman, his right hand holding a general's baton. On the right-hand side, the imperial eagle holds the coats of arms of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, signifying his official status as ban. In the background to the left is Trakošćan castle, with tents and soldiers below.

Count Ivan V Drašković was acting ban (viceroy) from 1718 to 1732. Officially appointed ban on 2 February 1732, he died suddenly the following year. Drašković actively supported the right of succession to the Habsurg female line (Croatian Pragmatic Sanction). The portrait, painted some time shortly after Drašković officially became ban, depicts the elderly count as a nobleman, his right hand holding a general's baton.

How date and origin were established:

The imperial eagle holding the coats of arms of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia signifies the office of ban (viceroy), and enables the painting to be conclusively dated to 1732 or 1733.

How Object was obtained:

Donated to the Museum by Countess Josipa Kulmer from Šestine near Zagreb in 1854.

Selected bibliography:

Schneider, M., Portreti 16–18. stoljeća(Portraits from the 16th to the 18th Century), Zagreb, 1982, p. 77.
Od svagdana do blagdana. Barok u Hrvatskoj. Katalog izložbe (From Everyday to Holidays: Baroque in Croatia), exhibition catalogue, Zagreb, 1993, p. 246.

Citation of this web page:

Marina Bregovac Pisk "Ivan V Drašković (about 1660–Varaždin, Croatia, 4.1.1733)" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;hr;Mus11_A;5;en

Prepared by: Marina Bregovac PiskMarina Bregovac Pisk

SURNAME: Bregovac Pisk
NAME: Marina

AFFILIATION: Croatian History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia

TITLE: Museum Advisor, Paintings, Prints and Sculptures

CV:
Marina Bregovac Pisk was awarded her BA in History of Art and English Language (Faculty of Philosophy) Zagreb University in 1979, and her MA in 2003 (Department of History of Art) from the same Faculty. She has been Museum Advisor for the Collection of Paintings, Prints and Sculptures at the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb since 1985, and is the author of several catalogues on the museum’s collections: The Events of 1848–1849 in Prints (2000), Portraits in the Print Collection of the Croatian History Museum (2008) and various other exhibition catalogues.
Translation by: Tomislav Pisk
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: HR 05