(25.2.1898, Tolmin – 11.8.1958, Ljubljana)
Ivan Čargo spent most of his childhood in Kanal, where he attended elementary school. He later moved to Gorizia, and from there to Novo Mesto, where he and his family retreated before the First World War. He did not finish high school, as he fought on the Russian front. He also participated in the Isonzo front.
After returning from the war in 1919, he returned to Novo Mesto. There he socialized with other great Slovenian poets and artists, such as Anton Podbevšek, Božidar Jakić and Miran Jarec. The desire to create led Čargo from Novo Mesto to Italy. He studied in Rome and Florence, where the artist acquired the basic principles for creating. the foundations of classical and avant-garde painting, and he also traveled around Italy, including Sicily and the Spanish coast, where he collaborated with the sculptor Živojin Lukić.
From 1924 to 1927 he was active in Gorizia, where he collaborated with V. Pilon, L. Spazzapan, A. Černigo and the Italian artist Pocarini. This period, known as Čarg's "Gorizia period", was marked by futuristic drawing, constructivist elements and expressionist dynamics. Between 1924 and 1927 he was also the set designer of the People's Theatre in Gorizia. In 1927 he moved to Ljubljana, where he participated in the founding of the avant-garde magazine Tank. The Ljubljana cultural environment was too petty-bourgeois for him, so he soon moved to Belgrade, where he lived until 1937. During this time he created for numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Slovenski beogradjski tednik, and developed the socially critical theme that became a constant in his work. His works from this period include portraits of cultural figures, figures of workers and miners, scenes from everyday life and dramatic compositions, often done in red chalk or red pencil. During World War II, he avoided conscription into the Italian army and joined the liberation movement.
In August 1941, the Italians arrested him, broke his arm and interned him on the Tremiti Islands. After the capitulation of Italy, he joined the 1st Overseas Brigade and worked on propaganda tasks, including illustrations for posters, leaflets and manuals. After returning to Ljubljana, he participated in exhibitions of partisan artists and the exhibition of coastal painters in Trieste (1946). Čargo was a distinctly avant-garde artist who combined futurism, expressionism and cubist elements throughout his work. His drawings and paintings reflect social issues, heroic figures of workers, miners and farmers, portraits of actors and cultural figures and autobiographical motifs.
Notable works include Self-Portrait (1926), Portrait of an Architect (1926), People on a Walk (1931), and In a Prison (1931), as well as numerous wall compositions and drawings for the Slovenski beograjski tednik. After the war, Čargo, disillusioned by the pressures of socialist realism, withdrew from active artistic creation and continued to live a bohemian life. His contribution to Slovenian art remains as a bridge between the historical avant-garde, socially critical themes, and modernist artistic reality. Monuments have been dedicated to him in Kanal and Ljubljana and streets have been named in his memory.
---
Ivan Čargo je večino svojega otroštva je preživel v Kanalu, kjer je obiskoval osnovno šolo. Kasneje se je preselil v Gorico, od tod pa v Novo mesto, kamor se je skupaj z družino umaknil pred prvo svetovno vojno. Gimnazije ni dokončal, saj se je boril na ruski fronti. Sodeloval je tudi na soški fronti.
Po vrnitvi iz vojne leta 1919 se je vrnil v Novo mesto. Tam se je družil še z drugimi velikimi slovenskimi pesniki in umetniki kot npr. Antonom Podbevškom, Božidarjem Jakcem in Miranom Jarcem. Želja po ustvarjanju je Čarga iz Novega mesta vodila naprej proti Italiji. Študiral je v Rimu in Firencah, kjer je umetnik pridobil osnovne zakonitosti za ustvarjanje. temelje klasičnega in avantgardnega slikarstva, potoval pa je tudi po Italiji, med drugim do Sicilije in španske obale, kjer je sodeloval s kiparjem Živojinom Lukićem.
Od leta 1924 do 1927 je bil aktiven v Gorici, kjer je sodeloval z V. Pilonom, L. Spazzapanom, A. Černigojem in italijanskim umetnikom Pocarinijem. To obdobje, znano kot Čargovo “goriško obdobje”, je zaznamovala futuristična risba, konstruktivistični elementi in ekspresionistična dinamika. Med letoma 1924 in 1927 je bil tudi scenograf Ljudskega gledališča v Gorici. Leta 1927 se je preselil v Ljubljano, kjer je sodeloval pri ustanovitvi avantgardistične revije Tank. Ljubljanski kulturni prostor mu je bil preveč malomeščanski, zato se je kmalu preselil v Beograd, kjer je živel do leta 1937. V tem času je ustvarjal za številne revije in časopise, vključno s Slovenskim beograjskim tednikom, in razvil socialnokritično tematiko, ki je postala stalnica njegovega opusa. Njegova dela iz tega obdobja vključujejo portrete kulturnih osebnosti, figure delavcev in rudarjev, prizore iz vsakdanjega življenja in dramatične kompozicije, pogosto z rdečo kredo ali rdečim svinčnikom. Med drugo svetovno vojno se je izognil vpoklicu v italijansko vojsko in se vključil v osvobodilno gibanje.
Avgusta 1941 so ga Italijani aretirali, mu zlomili roko in ga internirali na otoke Tremiti. Po kapitulaciji Italije se je pridružil 1. prekomorski brigadi in deloval na propagandnih nalogah, vključno z ilustracijami za plakate, letake in priročnike. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano je sodeloval pri razstavah umetnikov-partizanov in razstavi primorskih slikarjev v Trstu (1946). Čargo je bil izrazito avantgardističen umetnik, ki je skozi svoje delo kombiniral futurizem, ekspresionizem in kubistične elemente. Njegove risbe in slike odražajo socialno problematiko, heroične figure delavcev, rudarjev in kmetov, portrete igralcev in kulturnih osebnosti ter avtobiografske motive.
Pomembna dela vključujejo Avtoportret (1926), Portret arhitekta (1926), Ljudje na sprehodu (1931) in V jetnišnici (1931), pa tudi številne stenske kompozicije in risbe za Slovenski beograjski tednik. Po vojni se je Čargo, razočaran nad pritiski socialističnega realizma, umaknil iz aktivnega umetniškega ustvarjanja in nadaljeval življenje v bohemskem duhu. Njegov prispevek k slovenski umetnosti ostaja kot most med zgodovinsko avantgardo, socialno kritičnimi temami in modernistično likovno izraženo realnostjo. V Kanalu in Ljubljani so mu posvetili spomenike in poimenovali ulice v njegov spomin.
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
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
Marijan BRECELJ, Čargo, Ivan (1898–1958). Slovenska biografija, 2013. http://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi1006170/#primorski-slovenski-biografski-leksikon (15.2.2026).
Figelj, Klavdija: Čargo, Ivan (1898–1958). Slovenska biografija, 2013. http://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi1006170/#novi-slovenski-biografski-leksikon (15.2.2026).
Luc MENAŠE, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971, p. 417.
For all additional information regarding the purchase and other services, you can contact us by phone or e-mail: info@portaalpina-gallery.com
We will try to answer you as soon as possible.