(Ljubljana, 19.4.1893 - Ičići, 9.9.1970)
Lojze Dolinar is one of the greatest Yugoslav sculptors of the 20th century, whose creativity has reached the international space. His oeuvre includes diverse motifs and is numerous in scope. Portraits, nudes, genres, depictions of animals and social, mythological and revolutionary themes predominate. He tried his hand at monumental sculptural tasks as well as smaller architectural and tomb sculptures, which he designed in various materials.
He created in stone, artificial stone, bronze, clay, plaster and wood. His oeuvre also includes a few sketches, drawings and paintings, but due to the artist's sculptural virtuosity, these are often placed in the background. He began to engage in art at a young age, when he began drawing and modeling with clay. Before going to study in Vienna, he attended the Sculpture Department of the School of Arts and Crafts in Ljubljana between 1905 and 1910. He also helped in Ivan Zajc's studio, where he developed his basic design skills. Between 1910 and 1911 he studied with Joseph Müllner. The Vienna period was followed by studies in Munich. He stayed there only for a short time, as he was forced to return home due to financial hardship. After arriving in Ljubljana, he created in the Jakopič Pavilion. Later, he went back to Munich and Prague, and then settled for a while with Marica Slavec.
A famous Ljubljana lady opened the way for the young artist to bourgeois clients. In 1917, he was mobilized into the army and sent to Judenburg. There he continued the work of Svetoslav Peruzzi, who undertook a monument to the 17th Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army. A year later, he won the competition for the monument to Janez Evangelista Krek, which opened the door for him to important patrons of the arts. In his early years, Dolinar relied on impressionism, albeit in a more restrained and realistic approach. While searching for his own recognizable style, he also turned to symbolism and melancholic Art Nouveau stylization, and above all, he was well acquainted with the works of Michelangelo and Rodin, as well as other world-famous artists led by Meštrović. He developed an expressive and dramatic style in the period between the two wars, and until then he had produced more gentle figures. Dolinar's sculptures often play with the contrast between rough and smooth processing. This gave the viewer the feeling that the image was being unrolled from the material at that moment. The final image depended on the chosen motif, but was also influenced by the client and the artist himself.
In 1920, he went to the USA for a short time. There he helped in the studio of Malvina Hoffmann, who was a student of Auguste Rodin and also knew Ivan Meštrović. After returning to Ljubljana, he set up a studio in Levstikova Street. The artist was constantly involved in the events in Skopje, Ljubljana and Belgrade, where he collaborated with the underground during World War II. At that time, most of his works were burned during the occupation. After the war, he was entrusted with several commissions for Yugoslavia, which were supposed to deal with the rebellion against the occupier, labor and revolution. In 1963, he donated most of his collections to the municipality of Kranj so that his gallery could be opened in the city. At the end of his life, he devoted himself mainly to small sculptures, in which he moved away from realism and brought it closer to the modern style of Henry Moore. He was a member of many of the most prestigious associations of artists. In 1919, he joined the Society of Slovenian Depictioners and Savannah, and in 1920 he became a member of the National Gallery Society and the artistic council of the gallery. He also participated in the artistic committee and the council of Yugoslav Artists. He received numerous decorations, including the Prešeren Award in 1969.
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Lojze Dolinar je eden največjih jugoslovanskih kiparjev 20. stoletja, ki je s svojo ustvarjalnostjo segel v mednarodni prostor. Njegov opus vključuje raznolike motive in je po obsegu mnogoštevilen. Prevladujejo predvsem portreti, akti, žanri, upodobitve živali in socialna, mitološka ter revolucionarna tematika. Preizkusil se je tako v monumentalnih kiparskih nalogah kot tudi manjši arhitekturni in nagrobni plastiki, ki jo je oblikoval v različnih materialih.
Ustvarjal je v kamnu, umetnem kamnu, bronu, glini, mavcu in lesu. V njegovem opusu najdemo tudi nekaj skic, risb in slik a so te zaradi umetnikove kiparske virtuoznosti večkrat postavljene v ozadje. Z umetnostjo se je začel ukvarjati že v mladih letih, ko je pričel z risanjem in modeliranjem z glino. Preden se je odpravil na študij na Dunaj, je med 1905 in 1910 obiskoval Kiparski oddelek Umetnoobrtne šole v Ljubljani. Pomagal je tudi v ateljeju Ivana Zajca, kjer je razvil temeljne sposobnosti za oblikovanje. Med 1910 in 1911 je študiral pri Josephu Müllnerju. Dunajskemu obdobju je sledil študij v Münchnu. Tam je ostal le kratek čas saj se je bil zaradi finančne stiske primoran vrniti domov. Po prihodu v Ljubljano je ustvarjal v Jakopičevem paviljonu. Kasneje je zopet odšel v München in v Prago, nato pa se je za nekaj časa naselil k Marici Slavec.
Znana ljubljanska gospa je mlademu umetniku odprla pot do meščanskih naročnikov. Leta 1917 so ga mobilizirali v vojsko in poslali v Judenburg. Tam je nadaljeval delo Svetoslava Peruzzija, ki se je lotil spomenika 17. pehotnemu polku avstro-ogrske vojske. Leto kasneje je zmagal na natečaju za spomenik Janeza Evangelista Kreka s čimer so se mu odprla vrata do pomembnih mecenov umetnosti. V zgodnjem obdobju se je Dolinar oprl na impresionizem pa čeprav v bolj zadržanem in realističnem prijemu. Med iskanjem lastno prepoznavnega sloga je zašel tudi k simbolizmu in melanholični secesijski stilizaciji, predvsem pa je dobro poznal Michellangelova in Rodinova dela ter druge svetovno znane umetnike z Meštrovićem na čelu. Ekspresiven in dramatičen slog je razvil v času med obema vojnama, do tedaj pa izdeloval bolj mile figure. Dolinarjevi kipi večkrat preigravajo kontrast med grobo in gladko obdelavo. To je gledalcu dalo občutek, da se podoba v tistem trenutku izvija iz materiala. Končna podoba je bila sicer odvisna od izbranega motiva, prav tako pa sta nanj vplivala tudi naročnik in umetnik sam.
Leta 1920 se je za kratek čas odpravil v ZDA. Tam je pomagal v ateljeju Malvine Hoffmann, ki je bila učenka Avgusta Rodina, poznala pa je tudi Ivana Meštrovića. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano si je v Levstikovi ulici uredil atelje. Umetnik je bil ves čas vpet v dogajanje v Skopju, Ljubljani in Beogradu, kjer je v času 2. svetovne vojne sodeloval z ilegalo. Takrat so med okupacijo večino njegovih del požgali. Po vojni so mu zaupali kar nekaj naročil za Jugoslavijo, ki naj bi obravnavala upor proti okupatorju, delavstvo in revolucijo. Večino svoje zbirek je leta 1963 podaril občini Kranj, da bi v mestu odprli njegovo galerijo. Na koncu življenja se je posvetil predvsem mali plastiki, v kateri se je odmaknil od realizma in jo približal modernemu slogu Henryja Moora. Bil je član številnih najbolj prestižnih združenj umetnikov. Leta 1919 se je pridružil Društvu slovenskih upodabljajočih umetnikov in Savanom, 1920 pa je postal član Društva Narodna Galerija in umetniškega sveta galerije. Sodeloval je tudi v umetniškem odboru in svetu Jugoslovanskih umetnikov. Prejel je številna odlikovanja, med drugim tudi Prešernovo nagrado leta 1969.
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
Mateja BREŠČAK, s.v. Dolinar Lojze, Sto umetnin Narodne galerije (Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, ed. Mateja Breščak), cat. 88, Ljubljana 2016, pp. 180-181.
Karel DEŽMAN, s. v. Dolinar, Lojze, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 2, Zagreb 1962, pp. 67-68.
Damir GLOBOČNIK, Predgovor, Lojze Dolinar (1893-1970) : likovna in dokumentarna razstava (Ljubljana, Galerija v Mestni hiši, ed. Damir Globočnik), Ljubljana 2017, pp. 1-62.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Dolinar Lojze, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 491.
Donovan PAVLINEC, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, Ljubljana 2009, pp. 262-268.
Andreja RAKOVEC, s. v. Dolinar, Lojze (1893-1970), Novi Slovenski biografski leksikon, Ur. Petra Vide Ogrin, Ljubljana 2013-2022, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi176411/ (25.8.2024).
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