(Trst, 2.11.1897 - Vine, 18.10.1967)
Elda Marija Piščanec was a Slovenian artist who showed a desire to paint at a young age. After finishing primary school, she enrolled in a vocational school in Ljubljana. She did not continue her education at the academy, but instead got a job as a postal clerk.
During this time, she attended the Jakopič Pavilion, where she joined a painting course. It was run by Rihard Jakopič, who recognized Elda's extraordinary talent. He supported her to continue honing her skills, and her family also supported her in pursuing a career in art. She impressed both critics and audiences with her images. In 1921, she moved to Litija. There, she attended a painting course by Petar Žmitek, from where she moved to Zagreb. A year later, Elda was accepted to the Academy of Arts.
In her 20s, the artist went to Florence. There, she honed her skills at the Royal Academy, where she also graduated. In the earlier period, the artist was particularly fascinated by graphics, and then she turned her focus to oil painting. After a visit to Italy, her style became very close to that of Renaissance painters. In 1931, she presented her works together with other female artists in the Jakopič Pavilion. Compared to her male colleagues, the works of female painters achieved much less enthusiasm among art critics, although the exhibition was a springboard for the development of their further careers for most of them. She also traveled to Paris. This was her best and most fruitful period, as her representative works of art were created during this time. She mainly painted portraits, landscapes, flower and fruit still lifes, and biblical images, which she learned in the workshop of Professor Maurice Denis.
Her style veered towards realism, with elements of impressionism, expressionism, and symbolism. The artist encountered such works of art at every turn in the capital, and they were also extremely popular. In her expression, she did not strictly follow the guidelines of a certain direction, but transformed them according to her own feelings. Due to financial hardship, she soon returned home. She settled in the Majpigl mansion, near Dobrna, where she focused on painting. Occasionally, she received a larger painting project to work on. One such was the painting of the parish church in Stranice pri Konjiceh, where she worked between 1940 and 1946. She painted in the fresco technique. In her free time, the artist also taught painting. She was removed from the hustle and bustle of the city and the world in general, so the artist could completely immerse herself in painting. She participated in several exhibitions throughout the territory of the former Yugoslavia, where she presented herself in a group with other artists. In addition to painting, Elda Piščanec was also extremely active in the wider cultural milieu.
She was considered one of the founding members of the Modern Gallery. Later, she joined the Society of Slovenian Artists, where she met other contemporary artists. Despite the fact that she developed into an exceptional painter throughout her artistic career, the artist is still less known to the public today. Female artists were also strongly marginalized by their male colleagues in the 20th century, even though her oeuvre includes accomplished works that demonstrate an exceptionally high quality and sense of representation.
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Elda Marija Piščanec je bila slovenska umetnica, ki je željo po slikanju pokazala že v mladosti. Po koncu osnovne šole se je vpisala na obrtno šolo v Ljubljani. Z izobraževanjem ni nadaljevala na akademijo ampak se je zaposlila kot poštna uradnica.
V tem času je zahajala v Jakopičev paviljon, kjer se je pridružila tečaju slikanja. Vodil ga je Rihard Jakopič, ki je v Eldi prepoznal izreden talent. Podprl jo je naj svoje spretnosti uri še naprej, prav tako pa jo je k nadaljnji karieri v umetnosti podprla tudi družina. S svojimi podobami je navdušila tako kritiko kot tudi občinstvo. Leta 1921 se je preselila v Litijo. Tam je obiskovala slikarski tečaj Petra Žmitka, od koder se je preselila v Zagreb. Leto kasneje so Eldo sprejeli na umetnostno akademijo.
V 20ih letih se je umetnica odpravila v Firence. Tam je svoje veščine urila na Kraljevi akademiji, kjer je tudi diplomirala. V zgodnejšem obdobju se je umetnica navdušila predvsem nad grafiko, nato pa je svoj fokus usmerila v oljno slikarstvo. Po obisku Italije se je njen slog močno približal renesančnim slikarjem. Leta 1931 je svoja dela skupaj z drugimi umetnicami predstavila v Jakopičevem paviljonu. Dela slikark so v primerjavi z moškimi kolegi dosegla dosti manj navdušenja med likovno kritiko pa čeprav je bila razstava za večino izmed teh odskočna točka za razvoj v nadaljnji karieri. Potovala je tudi v Pariz. To je bilo zanjo najboljše in najbolj plodovito obdobje, saj so v tem času nastale njene reprezentativne umetnine. Slikala je predvsem portrete, krajino, cvetlična in sadna tihožitja ter svetopisemske podobe, ki jih je spoznavala v delavnici profesorja Maurica Denisa.
Njen slog se je zavihtel proti realističnemu, z elementi impresionizma, ekspresionizma in simbolizma. S takšnimi umetninami se je namreč umetnica v prestolnici srečevala na vsakem koraku in so bile tudi izjemno priljubljene. V svojem izrazu ni strogo sledila smernicam določene usmeritve ampak jih je preoblikovala po svojem občutenju. Zaradi finančne stiske se je kmalu vrnila domov. Naselila se je v dvorec Majpigl, blizu Dobrne, kjer se je osredotočila na slikanje. Občasno je v delo prejela tudi večji slikarski projekt. Eden takšnih je bila poslikava župne cerkve v Stranicah pri Konjicah, kjer je delovala med 1940 in 1946. Slikala je v fresco tehniki. V prostem času je umetnica poučevala tudi slikanje. Bila je odmaknjena od mestnega vrveža in sveta nasploh, tako da se je umetnica povsem lahko zatopila v slikarstvo. Sodelovala je na več razstavah po ozemlju nekdanje Jugoslavije, kjer se je predstavila v sklopu z drugimi umetniki. Poleg slikanja je bila Elda Piščanec izredno aktivna tudi v širšem kulturnem miljeju.
Veljala je za eno izmed ustanovnih članic Moderne galerije. Kasneje se je priključila tudi Društvu slovenskih likovnih umetnikov, v katerem se je seznanila z drugimi sočasnimi ustvarjalci. Ne glede na to, da se je skozi umetnostno kariero formirala v izjemno slikarko, je umetnica še danes manj poznana med javnostjo. Ženske umetnice so bile tudi v 20. stoletju močno potisnjene ob rob moških kolegov, pa čeprav so v njenem opusu zajeta dovršena dela, ki kažejo na izredno visoko kakovost in smisel za upodabljanje.
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:
- Maja KAČ, Umetnica, ki je kljub šibkosti žilavo rinila naprej, MMC RTV SLO, 13. 10. 2022, https://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/vizualna-umetnost/elda-piscanec-umetnica-ki-je-kljub-sibkosti-zilavo-rinila-naprej/643482, (2.5.2025).
- Uredništvo, s. v. Piščanec, Elda (1897-1967), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi430618/ (19.5.2025).
- Verena KORŠIČ, s. v. Piščanec, Elda (1897-1967), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi430618/ (19.5.2025).
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