(Dolenja vas, 7.5.1889- London, 28.4.1930)
Franjo Sterle was a Slovenian painter, sculptor and draftsman. He studied at the Ljubljana School of Crafts, where he studied sculpture between 1903 and 1905. After completing his studies with Alojzij Repič, he enrolled in painting for three years. During this time, the artist had already obtained permission to practice independent sculpting, but his desire for knowledge led him to Vienna, where between 1909 and 1912 he trained at the Academy of Painting.
When he returned to Ljubljana, he was quickly mobilized into the army, so he could not devote himself to creating art for a while. After the end of the war, in 1918, he enrolled in the second semester of painting in Vienna and graduated there. He was an extremely precise draftsman who tried to follow the laws of nature as much as possible in his creations. When portraying, he paid more attention to the drawing, and less to the atmosphere and psychologization that the image radiates. During his life, he portrayed several well-known Slovenian families, such as Tavčar, Šuklje, Stritar and Vizjak. In portraiture, he also tried his hand at the fresco technique, with which he painted the first modern Slovenian portrait on fresh plaster. In addition to mastering portraits, he also excelled in decorative drawing and landscapes. He was especially interested in the nature around the Cerkniško Lake, which he also recorded several times in his sketchbook.
Franjo Sterle was not only an artist, but played an important role in the establishment of the Probuda art association in 1922. This organized community was considered an important artistic educational environment before the Ljubljana Academy opened its doors to Slovenian artists in 1945. He was appointed to the position of director, he also performed a pedagogical function and taught drawing. Other well-known lecturers and members of Probuda included Josip Plečnik, Matija Sternen and Maksim Gaspari. The school was attended by Rajko Slapernik and Lojze Perko, who obtained the starting point for them to continue their artistic careers. Franjo Sterle stayed in Ljubljana until 1925, after which he went abroad and visited Italy, southern France, Corsica and London. He died there in a traffic accident. He participated in several exhibitions. The first was held in 1919 in the Jakopič Pavilion, and in 1924 he exhibited in shop windows. After the artist's death, his oeuvre was presented to the public once again and in 1930 an exhibition was held for the last time in memory of the great artistic talent.
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Franjo Sterle je bil slovenski slikar, kipar in risar. Šolal se je na ljubljanski šoli za umetno obrt, kjer se je v času med 1903 in 1905 poučeval o kiparstvu. Po končanem študiju pri Alojziju Repiču se je za tri leta vpisal še na slikarstvo. V tem času je umetnik sicer že pridobil dovoljenje za opravljanje samostojne kiparske dejavnosti a ga je želja po znanju popeljala še na Dunaj, kjer se je med 1909 in 1912 izpopolnjeval na slikarski akademiji.
Ko se je vrnil v Ljubljano so ga hitro mobilizirali v vojsko, zato se nekaj časa ni mogel posvetiti umetnostnemu ustvarjanju. Po koncu vojne, leta 1918, se je vpisal v drugi semester slikarstva na Dunaju in tam tudi diplomiral. Bil je izjemno precizen risar, ki je pri ustvarjanju čim bolj skušal slediti zakonitostim v naravi. Pri portretiranju je večjo pozornost namenil risbi, manj pa atmosferi in psihologizaciji, ki jo izžareva podoba. Tekom svojega življenja je upodobil več znanih slovenskih družin kot npr. Tavčar, Šuklje, Stritar in Vizjak. Pri portretiranju se je preizkusil tudi v fresco tehniki s čimer je na svež omet naslikal prvi moderni slovenski portret. Poleg obvladovanja portretov se je izkazal tudi v dekorativnem risanju in krajini. Zanimala ga je predvsem narava okoli Cerkniškega jezera, ki jo je tudi večkrat beležil v skicirko.
Franjo Sterle ni bil zgolj umetnik ampak je imel pomembno vlogo pri ustanovitvi likovnega društva Probuda, leta 1922. Ta organizirana skupnost je veljala za pomembno umetnostno izobraževalno okolje preden je vrata za slovenske ustvarjalce odprla ljubljanska akademija, leta 1945. Postavili so ga na mesto direktorja, opravljal pa je tudi pedagoško funkcijo in poučeval risanje. Med drugimi znanimi predavatelji in člani Probude so bili še Josip Plečnik, Matija Sternen in Maksim Gaspari. Šolo sta obiskovala Rajko Slapernik in Lojze Perko, ki sta pridobila začetno zanje za nadaljevanje umetnostne kariere. Franjo Sterle je v Ljubljani ostal do leta 1925 potem pa se je odpravil v tujino in obiskal Italijo, južno Francijo, Korziko in London. Tam je v prometni nesreči umrl. Sodeloval je na več razstavah. Prva je potekala leta 1919 v Jakopičevem paviljonu, leta 1924 pa je razstavljal po izložbenih oknih trgovin. Po umetnikovi smrti so javnosti še enkrat predstavili njegov opus in leta 1930 še zadnjič postavili razstavo v spomin na velik umetniški talent.
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:
Karel DOBIDA, s. v. Sterle, Fran, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 4, Zagreb 1966, p. 324.
Karel DOBIDA, Sterle, Franjo (1889-1930), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 11 zv. Stele – Švikaršič, Ljubljana 1971, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi611083/ (1.6.2024).
http://www.notranjci.si/osebe/sterle-franjo/603/
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