Rihard Jakopič

Photo of Rihard Jakopič by Avgust Berthold (before 1919)

Rihard Jakopič (12 April 1869 – 21 April 1943) was a Slovenian painter. He was the leading Slovenian Impressionist painter and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is considered the pioneer of Slovenian impressionist painting.

Life

Rihard Jakopič was born in Krakovo, a suburb of Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola in the Austria–Hungary. His father, Franc Jakopič, was a well-situated tradesman with agricultural goods. His mother was Neža, nee Dolžan. Rihard was the youngest of eight children.¹

Jakopič studied at the realka secondary school from 1879–1887. After he successfully passed an entry exam, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, for a short time returned home due to an illness, and resumed his studies in 1888. In 1889, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and in 1890, the Ažbe Art School in Munich. Then he lived in Ljubljana, where he participated in the establishment of the Slovene Art Society, and since 1902, in Škofja Loka. In 1903, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.¹

Jakopič returned to Ljubljana in 1906, where he also died. He was one of the early members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, founded in 1938.¹

Legacy

Over 1200 paintings and 650 drawings by Jakopič have been preserved.

In Ljubljana, Jakopič established the Slovene School of Impressionist Drawing and Painting, the predecessor of the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Ljubljana. He was an initiator for the foundation of the National Gallery of Slovenia. In 1908, he built a pavilion in Tivoli Park, based upon plans by the architect Max Fabiani. The Jakopič Pavilion became the central venue for art exhibitions in the Slovene Lands at the time. In 1962, due to the relocation of a railway line, it was demolished.

Commemoration

In 1965 a primary school in Šiška was named after him. Since 1969, the Jakopič Award, the highest Slovenian award in fine arts, is presented annually. In 1970–72, a statue of Jakopič by Bojan Kunaver was erected on the original site of the pavilion. In 1979, a new Jakopič Gallery (Slovene: Galerija Jakopič) opened on Slovenian Street (Slovene: Slovenska cesta) in Ljubljana. After Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, Jakopič was portrayed by Rudi Španzel on the 100 Slovenian tolar banknote, in circulation from October 1991 until the introduction of euro in January 2007.²

Selected works

Sončni breg (Sunny Hillside) (1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Breze v jeseni (Birches in Autumn) (1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Kamnitnik v snegu (Kamnitnik in the Snow) (1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Sončni breg (Sunny Hillside) (1903), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Zima (Winter) (1904), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Pri svetilki (By the lamp) (1904), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Študija sonca (A Study of the Sun) (1905), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Križanke (1909), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Spomini (Memories) (1912), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Zeleni pajčolan (The Green Veil) (1915), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Večer na Savi (Evening on the Sava River) (1926), National Gallery, Ljubljana
Slepec (Blind man) (1926), National Gallery, Ljubljana

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Cankar, Izidor (1925–1991 (printed ed.). 2009 (electronic ed.)). "Jakopič Rihard". In Vide Ogrin, Petra (electronic ed.). Cankar, Izidor et al. (printed ed.) (in Slovene [Slovene Biographical Lexicon]). Slovenski biografski leksikon. ISBN 978-961-268-001-5. http://nl.ijs.si/fedora/get/sbl:0883/VIEW/.
^ Šiška, Marko (January 2012). "Twenty Years of National Currency". Www.ukom.gov.si. Government Communication Office, Republic of Slovenia. http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_relations/background_information/history_national_events/twenty_years_of_national_currency/.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rihard Jakopič

Slovene Early Modernism: Rihard Jakopič. National Gallery of Slovenia site. Retrieved 8 May 2012.

[SBLJakopi.C4.8D-0] Cankar, Izidor (1925–1991 (printed ed.). 2009 (electronic ed.)). "Jakopič Rihard". In Vide Ogrin, Petra (electronic ed.). Cankar, Izidor et al. (printed ed.) (in Slovene [Slovene Biographical Lexicon]). Slovenski biografski leksikon. ISBN 978-961-268-001-5. http://nl.ijs.si/fedora/get/sbl:0883/VIEW/.

[1] Šiška, Marko (January 2012). "Twenty Years of National Currency". Www.ukom.gov.si. Government Communication Office, Republic of Slovenia. http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_relations/background_information/history_national_events/twenty_years_of_national_currency/.

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