(Ljubljana, 2.9.1889- Idrija, 15.9.1939, Zagreb)
Adolf Lapajne, affectionately known as Dolfe, was a Slovenian painter and watercolorist who worked in the first half of the 20th century. His father was a landowner, Vincenc Lapajne, so he was able to provide his son with an education in painting. He initially attended elementary school in his hometown, but later decided to pursue an artistic path. He traveled to Prague, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts.
Adolf successfully completed his studies there. Lapajne painted mainly in the watercolor technique, as he liked to explore how colors flow into each other and how light affects them. He was also very good at shading in the aforementioned technique, so that his images became as plastically felt as possible. He often painted with pastels and other painting media. He was characterized primarily by sensual depictions of landscapes and urban motifs, in which he combined observation of nature and soft, lyrical color notes.
During his life, he also traveled to Egypt, where he was fascinated by the great monuments of the past. He painted the pyramids in Giza, and in his works he also captured some moments from the hustle and bustle of the city in Cairo. Adolf Lapajne participated in several important group exhibitions at home and abroad. In 1926, he presented himself in the pavilion of living artists at the Ljubljana Fair, then in 1931 and 1934 with depictions of landscapes.
The journey also took him to Belgrade, where he participated in the First Spring Exhibition of Fine Artists, which opened in May 1929. He also participated in the Cultural Exhibition of the Julian Region in 1930, and he also exhibited his watercolors in the Jakopič Pavilion in 1935. He was characterized primarily by a sophisticated color palette and a sense of space. He was one of the most important artists between the two wars, making a significant contribution to the development of Slovenian painting. His works still reflect the spiritual and aesthetic richness of that time today.
Adolf Lapajne, ki so ga ljubkovalno imenovali Dolfe, je bil slovenski slikar in akvarelist, ki je ustvarjal v prvi polovici 20. stoletja. Njegov oče je bil posestnik Vincenc Lapajne, zato je sinu lahko omogočil izobraževanje v slikarski smeri. Osnovno šolo je sprva obiskoval v rojstnem kraju, kasneje pa se je odločil za umetniško pot. Odpotoval je v Prago, kjer je hodil na likovno akademijo.
Tam je Adolf tudi uspešno zaključil študij. Lapajne je slikal predvsem v tehniki akvarela, saj je rad raziskoval kako se barve prelivajo med seboj in kako učinkuje svetloba nanje. V omenjeni tehniki je zelo dobro znal tudi senčiti, tako da so njegove podobe postale kar se da plastično občutene. Pogosto je slikal tudi s pasteli in drugimi slikarskimi sredstvi. Zanj so bile značilne predvsem čutne upodobitve pokrajin in mestnih motivov, v katerih je združil opazovanje narave in mehke, lirične barvne note.
Za čas svojega življenja se je odpravil tudi v Egipt, kjer se je navdušil nad velikimi spomeniki iz preteklosti. Naslikal je piramide v Gizi, v dela pa je ujel tudi nekaj trenutkov iz mestnega vrveža v Cairu. Adolf Lapajne je sodeloval na več pomembnih skupinskih razstavah doma in v tujini. Leta 1926 se je predstavil v pavilijonu živečih umetnikov na ljubljanskem velesejmu, nato še leta 1931 in 1934 z upodobitvami krajine.
Pot ga je zanesla tudi v Beograd, kjer je sodeloval na Prvi pomladni razstavi likovnih umetnikov, ki so jo otvorili maja 1929. Udeležil se je tudi Kulturne razstave Julijske krajine, leta 1930, svoje akvarele pa je razstavil tudi v Jakopičevem paviljonu leta 1935. Zanj je bila značilna predvsem prefinjena barvna paleta in občutek za prostor. Bil je eden pomembnejših ustvarjalcev med obema vojnama, ki je pomembno prispeval k razvoju slovenskega slikarstva. Njegova dela še danes odražajo duhovno in estetsko bogastvo tistega časa.
All the artists on the Porta Alpina website can be found at this link.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
SOURCES/VIRI:
Jozko VETRIH, s. v. Lapajne, Tone (1889-1939), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi921230/ (19.10.2025).
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