Večernji akt

Mihovil, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts, lives with his grandmother on Medvedgradska Street and has an extraordinary ability to perfect forgeries – from banknotes and paintings to manuscripts and objects. His talent is revealed when he pays in a shop with a counterfeit banknote, which goes unnoticed, and his friend Zoran and the painter Kolarić recognize the genius of his copies, such as a perfect replica of Stančić’s painting. Mihovil’s skill attracts the attention of various circles – from artistic to criminal and political – which leads to a series of dramatic events. As the plot progresses, Mihovil’s forgeries become increasingly fantastic: he copies letters from Antun Gustav Matoš, plants, and even reality, creating alternative worlds, such as a fake Zagreb. His ability raises moral questions – does his forgery change reality or is it just a reflection of the relativity of truth? The authorities persecute him, considering him a threat, while he himself escapes persecution by transforming himself into the old man Bartol Mihetec. The novel culminates when Mihovil, in a new identity, begins writing a work that begins with the same sentence as "Evening Nude", hinting at cyclicality and self-referentiality.