Ivan Lackovic

The Croatian painter and politician Ivan Lackovic Croata, who has died aged 72, began to add the pseudonym "Croata" in 1964, when his country was part of Yugoslavia. As a "naive" artist from a peasant background, he became a hero of the socialist state while in his thirties. By this time he was already nursing strong nationalist feelings, which could not be fully expressed until Croatia gained its independence in 1992. There is a strong patriotic mood in all of his work, particularly in the vivid winter landscapes celebrating the beauty of his homeland for which he is best known.