Abstract
The chapter deals with the political activity and views of the sculptor Ivan Meštrović. It presents him as a prominent figure in Croatian political life and the movement that led to the establishment of the Yugoslav state.
It deals with the political aspect of his sculptural work. Emphasizes his role in creating the ideology and iconography of Yugoslav state and national unity.
At the same time, however, the chapter highlights Meštrović's critical objections to the political regime in Yugoslavia and shows his gradual disillusionment that led him away from Yugoslav unitarism to a narrower Croatian national identity. Although Meštrović opposed communism after World War II and went into exile in the USA, he established correct relations with Tito's Yugoslavia.
Even the new regime used Meštrović's work as a tool for building a common Yugoslav identity.