(Ljubljana, 2. 12. 1922 - Ljubljana, 2. 12. 1997)
France Peršin was a Slovenian artist who worked in the second half of the 20th century. He decided to study painting after World War II, when he enrolled at the Zagreb Academy. He graduated there in 1949, and then returned to Ljubljana. In the capital, he devoted himself to teaching art at several gymnasiums, and in his free time he loved to paint. In 1956, France Peršin became a professor at the School of Design. He joined Group 53, which brought together a wide variety of young Slovenian artists. The main purpose of the association was to exhibit works and actively connect with foreign artists in the period after World War II.
The first exhibition was organized within the Modern Gallery, and from there it traveled to Belgrade and Zagreb. Namely, in their expression, the members of the group resisted with all their might socialist realism, which was considered the dominant orientation of the post-war period. Young artists tried to draw attention to new themes in art that had appeared on the cultural scene after the great period of impressionism in Slovenia. Milan Berbuč, Mire Cetin, Marko Šuštaršič, Melita Vovk and the Tršar brothers presented themselves as part of this. France Peršin often brought a bitter mood to his paintings, which is why his images are often somewhat melancholic and strongly stylized.
The artist's artistic expression was influenced by French artists of the time, who were masters of tonal harmony. In their final appearance, Peršin's paintings appear almost unified, without major deviations in aesthetic terms. His images are said to reflect the intertwining of expressionism and intimism, which the artist formed on the basis of inner experiences and responses from his surroundings. In his oeuvre, he combined modern painting techniques with his own expressiveness. He mostly painted landscapes and still lifes, but he also painted other motifs. In the late phase of his work, his interest turned to exploring human alienation. He warned that this will most likely become an even more pressing problem in the future, as people will become puppets and targets that the world can manipulate. Together with Boris Kobet, Peršin undertook a monumental sgraffito for the Ljubljana City Hall. He exhibited his works several times at smaller exhibitions. The first of these was in 1952 at the Mala galerija, where the artist presented his early production. In the mature years of his career, he became president of the Slovenian Association of Fine Artists. For his high-quality artistic work, he was awarded the Prešeren Fund Award in 1971, and eleven years later the Župančič Award.
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France Peršin je bil slovenski likovni umetnik, ki je ustvarjal v drugi polovici 20. stoletja. Za študij slikarstva se je odločil po drugi svetovni vojni, ko se je vpisal na zagrebško akademijo. Tam je leta 1949 tudi diplomiral, nato pa se je vrnil nazaj v Ljubljano. V prestolnici se je posvetil poučevanju likovnega pouka na več gimnazijah, v prostem času pa je rad slikal. Leta 1956 je France Peršin postal profesor na Šoli za oblikovanje. Pridružil se je Skupini 53, ki je združevala najrazličnejše mlade slovenske ustvarjalce. Glavni namen združenja je bilo razstavljanje del in aktivno povezovanje s tujimi umetniki, v času po drugi svetovni vojni.
Prvo razstavo so organizirali v okviru Moderne galerije, od tod pa je potovala še v Beograd in Zagreb. Člani skupine so se namreč v svojem izrazu na vso moč uprli socialističnemu realizmu, ki je veljal z a prevladujočo usmeritev povojnega časa. Mladi ustvarjalci so skušali opozoriti na nove teme v umetnosti, ki so se pojavile na kulturni sceni, po velikem obdobju impresionizma na Slovenskem. V okviru te so se predstavili Milan Berbuč, Mire Cetin, Marko Šuštaršič, Melita Vovk in brata Tršar. France Peršin je v svoje slike pogosto vnašal trpko razpoloženje, zato so njegove podobe večkrat nekoliko melanholične in močno stilizirane.
Na umetnikov likovni izraz so namreč vplivali tedanji francoski umetniki, ki so bili mojstri tonske uglašenosti. V končnem izgledu tako Peršinove slike delujejo skoraj da poenotene, brez večjih odstopanj v estetskem pogledu. Njegove podobe naj bi odražale preplet med ekspresionizmom in intimizmom, ki jih je umetnik oblikoval na podlagi notranjih izkušenj in odzivov iz okolice. V njegovem opusu je združil moderne slikarske prijeme z lastno izraznostjo. Največkrat je slikal krajine in tihožitja, slikal pa je tudi drugo motiviko. V pozni fazi ustvarjanja se je njegovo zanimanje usmerilo k raziskovanju človekove odtujenosti. Opozoril je, da bo ta najverjetneje postala še bolj pereč problem v prihodnosti, saj bodo ljudje postali lutke in tarče, s katerimi bo svet lahko manipuliiral. Skupaj z Borisom Kobetom se je Peršin lotil monumentalnega sgrafitta za ljubljansko mestno hišo. Svoja dela je večkrat razstavil na manjših razstavah. Prva izmed teh je bila leta 1952 v Mali galeriji, kjer se je umetnik predstavil z zgodnjo produkcijo. V zrelih letih kariere je postal predsednik Društva slovenskih likovnih umetnikov. Za kakovostno umetniško delo so mu leta 1971 podelili Nagrado Prešernovega sklada, enajst let pozneje pa še Župančičevo nagrado.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
SOURCES/VIRI:
- Komar JANEZ, France Peršin: akademski slikar, diplomsko delo, Filozofska fakulteta, 1979.
- Maja LOZIĆ, s. v. Skupina 53, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, pp. 254-257.
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