Sophie Pujas's 'Z.M.' Evokes Painter Zoran Music's Life and Dachau Ordeal

Sophie Pujas has published 'Z.M.' with Gallimard, a biographical work on painter Zoran Music (1909–2005). Rather than a conventional biography, Pujas adopts a personal, evocative approach, describing Music as a 'ghost' and focusing on his artistic resilience beneath melancholy. The book highlights a pivotal year: in spring 1944, Music was arrested by Nazis on suspicion of resistance involvement and transferred to Trieste. Deemed 'harmless' and possibly impressed by his stature, they offered him enlistment in Reich special forces; Music laughed, sealing his deportation to Dachau. There, he drew continuously, surviving through art. After liberation, he saved some of his drawings. Pujas reconstructs these events with delicacy, emphasizing shadow and indistinct colors, akin to Music's own landscapes and portraits. The review by Patrick Kéchichian praises the book's quiet miracle and constant tonal accuracy.