(25.1.1901, Šapjane – 5.5.1982, Ljubljana)
Drago Vidmar is a Slovenian visual artist who found his inspiration primarily in the surrounding landscape. He spent his youth in the vicinity of the Kolpa Valley and in Kočevje, where he attended elementary school. Even then, he sketched a lot, and later created in a variety of techniques.
He tried his hand at watercolor, oil and acrylic, and also created with mortar and concrete. Vidmar supplemented his knowledge at the Robba School in Ljubljana with Prof. Slapernik, and then furthered his education in Germany. In addition to painting, he also worked with sculpture, retouching and room painting for a while. His style is torn between expressionism and new reality. During and after the war, he was an important author of partisan art and a creator of NOB production. For a while he also worked as a decorator and furnished the homes of the richest, luxurious villas and even brothels, while at the same time he constantly painted his own works, which were supposed to express primarily the artist's personal experience of nature and the world around him.
During the time that Drago was living abroad, he was interested in exploring new painting techniques and materials, which made his artistic field even more experienced and convincing. Vidmar often used photographs in his paintings. These served instead of exhaustive sketches, making it easier for the artist to transfer the desired motifs to the canvas. Despite the fact that he adopted this method of painting, his works remained distinctly charged with emotions and spirituality, rather than dry and purified as templates. He created more than a hundred works, which are today kept in Kočevje and Germany.
In 1978, the artist was awarded the Prešeren Award. Although he spent most of his life abroad, he loved to return to his homeland and maintained a strong connection with his native landscape. He presented his artistic images at several solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad. Despite his retirement, Drago Vidmar remains active in the field of art and continues to explore the beauty of the Kočevje region to this day.
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Drago Vidmar je slovenski likovni umetnik, ki je vir svojega navdiha našel predvsem v bljižni pokrajini. Svojo mladost je peživel v bljižini doline Kolpe in v Kočevju, kjer je obiskoval osnovno šolo. Že tedaj je veliko skiciral, kasneje pa je ustvarjal v najrazličnejših tehnikah.
Preizkusil se je v akvarelu, olju in akrilu, ustvarjal pa je tudi z malto in betonom. Svoje znanje je Vidmar dopolnil na Robbovi šoli v Ljubljani pri prof. Slaperniku, nato pa se je izopolnjeval še v Nemčiji. Poleg slikanja se nekaj časa ukvarjal tudi s kiparstvom, retušo in sobopleskarstvom. Njegov slog je razpet med ekspresionizem in novo stvarnostjo. V času vojne in po njej je potal pomemben avtor partizanske umetnosti in ustvarjalec NOB produkcije. Nekaj časa je služboval tudi kot dekorater in je opremljal domove najbogatejših, luksuzne vile in celo bordele, hkrati pa je ves čas slikal lastna dela, ki naj bi izražala predvsem umetnikovo osebno doživljanje narave in sveta okoli sebe.
V času, ko je Drago bival v tujini, je z zanimanjem raziskoval nove slikarske tehnike in materiale, s katerimi je njegovo likovno polje postalo še bolj doživeto in prepričljivo. Pri slikanju je Vidmar pogosto uporabljal fotografije. Te so služile namesto izčrpnih skic, da je umetnik lažje prenesel želene motive na platno. Kljub dejstvu, da je ubral takšen način slikanja, so njegova dela ostala izrazito nabita s čustvi in duhovostjo, ne pa suhoparna in izčiščena kot predloge. Ustvaril je več kot sto del, ki jih danes hranijo v Kočevju in v Nemčiji.
Leta 1978 so umetniku podelili Prešernovo nagrado. Čeprav je večji del svojega življenja bival v inozemstvu, se je rad vračal v domovino in ohranil močno povezavo z domačo krajino. Likovne podobe je predstavil na več samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah doma in v tujini. Drago Vidmar kljub pokoju še vedno ostaja aktiven v umetnostni smeri in še dandanes raziskuje lepoto Kočevske krajine.
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
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
Karel BAČER, Drago VIDMAR. (1901-1982). Obrazi slovenskih pokrajin. Mestna knjižnica Kranj, 2020, https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/drago-vidmar/(17. 2. 2026).
Iztok DURJAVA, Vidmar, Drago (1901–1982). Slovenska biografija, 2013. http://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi783470/#slovenski-biografski-leksikon (11. februar 2026).
Milan GLAVONJIĆ, Zgodba Draga Vidmarja, Umetnik, ki je v tujini opremil domove najbogatejših, Dolenjski list, 9.9.2025, https://svet24.si/lokalno/dolenjska/novice/drago-vidmar-slikar-nemcija-kocevska-1846430#google_vignette(1.1.2026).
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