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Franc Kopitar was a Slovenian artist who combined his youth experiences and his native Zagorje landscape in his artistic language. He grew up during the war period, which left a strong impression on him. When he turned fifteen, he was drafted into the German army. Regardless, he immediately fled to the partisans, where he worked under the name Silva.

Franc Kopitar - River and mountains
In Črna na Koroškem, he participated in the illegal printing of texts. After the war, he was captured by the British army and accused of political espionage. He was imprisoned for seven years, after which he dedicated his life to painting. In 1953, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana and graduated in 1959 under Gojmir Anton Kos. In the same year, he began teaching art education at the Zagorje Elementary School. For a short time, he also headed the Zagorje Workers' Home, mainly teaching high school students from Zasavje. He was an active member of various cultural institutions and art societies.

He is one of the members of the Association of Visual Artists of Slovenia and the Zagorje poetry group Dediči. In his home area, he was known as a mentor and organizer of cultural life. Kopitar's creative work is extremely diverse. In addition to painting, he also tried his hand at sculpture, photography, animated film and poetry. He designed numerous public monuments in the municipality of Zagorje. His paintings often reflect the Zasavje landscape. The Sava River, the mining area and lonely gorges most often appear in them. He painted most often with oil paints, but he also used acrylic, the linocut technique, scratchboards, pastels and monotypes. Kopitar was at the same time a poet of the landscape and a researcher of artistic expression. His work ranges between realism, surrealism and abstraction.

Since 1952, he has lived in Dolenja vas near Zagorje ob Savi. His artistic contribution remains an important part of the Zasavje cultural identity. In 2016, a statue in his memory, the work of sculptor Mirsad Begić, was erected in front of the Ivan Skvarče Elementary School in Zagorje ob Savi.

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Franc Kopitar je bil slovenski likovni umetnik, ki je v svoji likovni govorici združil izkušnje iz mladosti in domačo zagorsko krajino. Odraščal je tekom vojnega obdobja, kar je nanj pustilo močne posledice. Ko je dopolnil petnajst let, so ga vpoklicali v nemško vojsko. Ne glede na to, je takoj pobegnil k partizanom, kjer je deloval pod imenom Silvo. 

V Črni na Koroškem je sodeloval pri ilegalnem tisku besedil. Po vojni ga je zajela britanska vojska in ga je obtožila političnega vohunjenja. Za kar sedem let so ga zaprli, nato pa je svoje življenje posvetil slikanju. Leta 1953 se je vpisal na Akademijo za likovno umetnost v Ljubljani in leta 1959 diplomiral pri Gojmiru Antonu Kosu. Istega leta je začel poučevati likovno vzgojo na Osnovni šoli Zagorje. Krajši čas je vodil tudi Delavski dom Zagorje, predvsem pa je poučeval  zasavske srednješolce. Bil je dejaven član različnih kulturnih ustanov in umetniških društev.  

Je eden izmed pripadnikov Društva likovnih umetnikov Slovenije in zagorske pesniške skupine Dediči. V domači okolici so ga poznali kot mentorja in organizatorja kulturnega življenja. Kopitarjev ustvarjalni opus je izjemno raznolik. Poleg slikarstva se je preizkusil tudi v kiparstvu, fotografiji, animiranem filmu in poeziji. Zasnoval je številne javne spomenike v občini Zagorje. Njegove slike pogosto odražajo zasavsko krajino. V njih se največkrat pojavi reka Sava, rudarska okolica in samotne soteske. Najpogosteje je slikal z oljnimi barvami, uporabljal pa je tudi akril, tehniko linoreza, praskank, pastelov in monotipij. Kopitar je bil hkrati poet pokrajine in raziskovalec likovnega izraza. Njgov opus je razpet med realizem, nadrealizem in abstrakcijo. 

Od leta 1952 je živel v Dolenji vasi pri Zagorju ob Savi. Njegov umetniški prispevek ostaja pomemben del zasavske kulturne identitete. Leta 2016 so pred Osnovno šolo Ivana Skvarče v Zagorju ob Savi postavili kip v njegov spomin, ki je delo kiparja Mirsada Begića.

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: 
Franc KOPITAR, Popotovanja, antologija del Franca Kopitarja, Zagorje ob Savi, 2016.
Urška KUREŽ, Kopitar, Franc (1928-1989), Obrazi slovenskih pokrajin, Kranj 2020, https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/kopitar-franc/ (2.12.2012).
Franc KOPITAR, Popotovanja, antologija del Franca Kopitarja, Zagorje ob Savi, 2016.

  • Franc Kopitar - River and mountains
    Franc Kopitar - River and mountains

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