A foreigner visiting Croatia will become acquainted with modern and contemporary Croatian fine art in numerous galleries and museums, as well as at exhibitions, and learn that Croatia takes part in all artistic currents in both Europe and the world, and that a large number of artists achieve a high level of quality and recognition, by being included in the most famous galleries and museums of the world. Our small anthology presented here can but offer a glimpse of the diversity in ideas and affiliations, but it surely cannot provide a full overview of its treasures. From the Art Nouveau and Symbolism represented by B. Csikos-Sessia from the end of the 19th century, Croatian painters in Munich and Paris at the beginning of th 20th century (J. Racic), to the breakthrough of the contemporary trends in the 1950s, inspite of the socialist regime (E. Murtic) and all the forms of Abstract Art (J. Seissel, R. Goldoni, A. Srnec), and the original and expressive Croatian sculpture (B. Ruzic).

Alongside modern art, a specific parallel current is represented in the Croatian naive art, which started its development in the 1930s, and until the present time has achieved world recognition. From many names, let us single out I. Rabuzin, who has been commissioned to paint the curtain of a Tokyo theatre, and whose paintings served as the blueprint for the famous Rosenthal porcelain, as well as for French tapestry.

Of equally visual excellence is the Croatian animated films (the "Zagreb School of Animated Film), which was, along with many other awards, honoured with the Academy Award "Oscar" for D. Vukotic's film "The Surrogate" in 1962.