Elo Justin

(Ljubljana, 8.4.1903 - Grosuplje, 3.12.1966)

Gabrijel Justin, affectionately known as Elko or Elo, was a Slovenian painter and graphic artist. He studied at the Technical High School in Ljubljana under Prof. Repič and Prof. Šantl. There he trained in carving and painting, and also attended the sculpture department. In 1921, with the help of a scholarship, he continued his studies in Vienna. Together with other Yugoslav scholarship holders, he attended the St. Anne's School, where they were educated in watercolour, copper engraving, lithography, painting and pastel. During his studies, he traveled to German cities several times.

He went to Berlin, Dresden and Munich. After returning to Ljubljana, he illustrated for the daily newspapers Jutro, Domovino and Življenje in svet, as well as other magazines that were published monthly. He furnished several books and poetry collections with his drawings, and they also appeared on postcards. Gabrijel already devoted a lot of time to copying old masters during his studies in Ljubljana and later in Vienna. This makes his woodcuts much more technically perfect compared to the works of other colleagues. He advocated traditional approaches to artistic creation and as realistic an expression as possible, which is why most of his contemporaries despised him. He considered Honoré Daumier, Gustav Klimt and Gustavé Dore, as well as numerous Japanese woodcutters, to be particularly excellent.

Between 1924 and 1926, he published two graphic cycles, namely Mrliči and Groza. In his graphics, he often depicted famous men from Slovenian history, among whom France Prešeren dominates. He was a great fan and collector of his authentic manuscripts, so it is not surprising that the poet often appears in his visual works. Justin was characterised by a stencil-like, precise drawing, which he equipped with a few decorative accents. His compositions are clear and transparent, as they are more often than not filled with only essential elements. The images often have strong contours, which are slightly emphasized with color. He most often used two-colour linocut and watercolour, with which he achieved a soft transition between colour tones. In graphics and book illustrations, he was more inclined to realism.

Some works were also designed according to the principles of expressionism. Black dominates in these works. In painting, he strove for softer colour transitions. In this way, the artist moved away from pure realism and somewhat idealized the visual image. He most often depicted landscapes with simple farmhouses in earthy tones. In his mature years, Gabrijel Justin also devoted himself to discussions about art and historical circumstances. Since 1923, he has exhibited his works in all major cities in Europe. He received exceptionally good reviews throughout Europe, but only over time was he understood on his home soil.

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Gabrijel Justin, ljubkovalno Elko ali Elo, je bil slovenski slikar in grafik. Šolal se je na srednji tehnični šoli v Ljubljani pri prof. Repiču in prof. Šantlu. Tam se je uril v rezbarstvu in slikarstvu, obiskoval pa je tudi kiparski oddelek. Leta 1921 je s pomočjo štipendije študij nadaljeval na Dunaju. Skupaj z drugimi jugoslovanskimi štipendisti so obiskovali šolo Sv. Ane, kjer so se izobraževali o akvarelu, bakrorezu, litografiji, slikarstvu in pastelu. Med študijem je večkrat potoval po nemških mestih.

Odpravil se je v Berlin, Dresden in München. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano je ilustriral za dnevni časopis Jutro, Domovino in Življenje in svet ter druge revije, ki so objavljale mesečno. S svojimi risbami je opremil kar nekaj knjig in pesniških zbirk, segle pa so tudi na razgledice. Gabrijel je že med študijem v Ljubljani in kasneje na Dunaju veliko časa namenil kopiranju starih mojstrov. S tem so njegovi lesorezi veliko bolj tehnično dovršeni v primerjavi z deli drugih kolegov. Zagovarjal je namreč tradicionalne pristope v umetnostnem ustvarjanju in kar se da realističen izraz, zato ga je večina sodobnikov prezirala. Še posebej odlični so se mu zdeli Honoré Daumier, Gustav Klimt in Gustavé Dore in številni japonski lesorezci.

Med 1924 in 1926 je izdal dva grafična cikla in sicer Mrliči ter Groza. V svojih grafikah je večkrat upodobil slavne može iz slovenske zgodovine, med katerimi dominira France Prešeren. Bil je namreč velik ljubitelj in zbiratelj njegovih avtentičnih rokopisov, zato ni presenetljivo, da se pesnik večkrat pojavi v njegovih likovnih delih. Za Justina je bila značilna šablonsko natančna risba, ki jo je opremil z nekaj dekorativnimi poudarki. Njegove kompozicije so jasne in pregledne saj jih bolj kot ne napolnjujejo zgolj bistveni elementi. Podobe imajo večkrat močne konture, ki so nekoliko poudarjene z barvo. Največkrat je uporabljal dvobarvni linorez in akvarel, s katerim je dosegel mehko prehajanje med barvnimi toni. Pri grafikah in likovni opremi knjig je bil bolj naklonjen realizmu.

Nekaj del zasnovanih tudi po načelih ekspresionizma. V teh delih prevladuje črnina. Pri slikanju je stremel k bolj mehkim prehodom barv. S tem se je umetnik odmaknil od čistega realizma in likovno podobo nekoliko idealiziral. Največkrat je v zemeljskih tonih upodobil krajino s preprostimi kmečkimi hišami. V zreli dobi se je Gabrijel Justin posvetil tudi razpravam o umetnosti in zgodovinskim okoliščinam. Svoja dela je od leta 1923 razstavljal po vseh večjih mestih v Evropi. Prejel je izjemno dobre kritike po vsej Evropi, šele skozi čas pa so ga razumeli tudi na domačih tleh.

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:
Damir Globočnik, Ilustrator in lesorezec Elko Justin, Umetnostna kronika, 1.2.2024, https://umetnostna-kronika.si/zapis/ilustrator-lesorezec-elko-justin (14.12.2024).
Milček KOMELJ, Justin Gabrijel (Elko), Enciklopedija Slovenije, Ljubljana 1990, p. 360.
Lesorezi Elka Justina, Slovenski narod, LVIII/225, Ljubljana 1925, p. 3.
Čoro ŠKODLAR, Elko Justin, Delo, XV/96, Ljubljana 1973, p. 5.
Uredništvo, Justin, Gabrijel (1903-1966), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 1928-2013, 3. zv., Hinter-Kocen, ed. Izidor Cankar et all., https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi261563/ (12.12-2024).