The painter Oton Iveković is one of the founders of Croatian modernism. He began his education in Zagreb under Hafner and Quiquerez. In 1887 he started his studies at the Academy in Vienna. In 1892, Iveković continued his studies in Munich under Wilhelm Lindenschmidt and in Karlsruhe under Ferdinand Keller. In 1894, he was awarded the post of professor of drawing at the Grammar School in Zagreb. Iveković was also a lecturer at the School of Crafts from 1895 and at the College of Art (later the Academy of Fine Arts) from 1909-1927. Iveković was the President of the Lada Association of Yugoslav Visual Artists and a corresponding member of the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In Croatian art history, he is known as a painter of historical themes that gained him great popularity. Iveković's paintings from Croatian history were massively reproduced using oleography. He also painted large-scale wall paintings with national, folklore and religious themes. While the earlier portraits were mostly painted in the manner of the Viennese Academy, from 1900 he placed the portraits in sunny outdoor spaces and freer settings with light, post-impressionist and plein air palette.