Rihard Jakopič

(Ljubljana, 12.4.1868- Ljubljana, 21.4.1943)

Together with Matija Jama, Ivan Grohar and Matej Sternen, Rihard Jakopič is one of the key representatives of Slovenian impressionism. In addition to his rich creative career, he also established himself in our area as an art theorist, writer and teacher. He started drawing during his high school years, when he attended Jurij Tavčar's course in his spare time. In 1887, he continued his studies at the painting academy in Vienna, and two years later he went to Munich. He also attended a painting school there for a short time, but the academic approach was anything but acceptable to him. Regardless, the Munich period represents a major turning point for Jakopič's further development. In the city, he met Ferd Vesel and Matija Jama, with whom he painted en plein air. All three also supported Anton Ažbe, who in 1891 opened the first private painting academy in the city.

His approach was closer to Jakopič, but at this time the artist focused on the works of French Impressionists, with whom he got to know with his own eyes in a culturally rich center. He was particularly impressed by the pasty layers of paint, which were applied to the canvas with the help of a spatula and the stringing of tonal layers, whereby the works of art still maintain materiality in the depiction of objects. Ever since then, Jakopič has also been researching the effects of light in different parts of the day and in the Munich landscape he created real color symphonies on his canvases. Like Claude Monet, he also created a whole series of images with the same motif, such as birches, hornbeams, motive at the piano, Sava and Križank. His artistic oeuvre can mainly be divided into three major phases. The first one marks the time until 1906, when he returned to Ljubljana from abroad and painted in an impressionist manner. The second phase covers the time between 1906 and 1917. At that time, he added narrative and emotional content to the fleeting impression, and his turbulent style calmed down and approached realism. His last major period spans between 1917 and 1928, when the artist's expression came closest to color expressionism. That's when the artist's monumental images are created, which are equipped with a strong emotional note. He painted not only in nature, but also from memory and feeling. He was helped in this by the colours with which, in addition to the impressionist style, he tried to capture moods in the picture. A little more than 1,200 oil-on-canvas paintings have been preserved in Jakopič's legacy. He also left behind about 650 drawings, which he drew on paper with charcoal, and one monumental painting for the Arch of Mexico. Although Rihard Jakopič is considered to be the most important Slovenian artist, we should not overlook his important role and the fervent diligence with which he tried to raise Slovenian art to a higher level and enable it to flourish on an equal footing to that enjoyed by painters abroad. In doing so, he relied on the leading European centers in which strong cultural engagement took place and to bring all this to us as well. Together with other artists, he co-founded the Slovenian Art Society, which intensively exhibited the works of Slovenian artists. The first exhibition was held in 1900. With it, the public also got an insight into the newly emerging art that our authors created for the Slovenian nation.

Two years later, it was followed by another exhibition at which a group of Slovenian impressionists was formed. They started painting together in the surroundings of Škofja Loka, the Slovenian Barbizon. In 1904, they exhibited their works as a group in the Miethke salon in Vienna. Although they were despised in our country, they received good reviews in the Austrian capital and thus achieved a more respected attitude on home soil. Jakopič opened his painting school in 1907, and a year later the Jakopič pavilion or the exhibition center in Tivoli, which offered favourable conditions for the exhibition of new Slovenian art. After its opening, the third art exhibition was held in it, and since then more intense exhibition activity has taken place in Ljubljana. A new view of art, Jakopič's efforts and the lack of space in the pavilion contributed to the opening of the National Gallery in 1918. Together with his colleagues Savani, they exhibited in Vienna and Belgrade in 1904, and a year later in London and Sofia. After his death, two more extensive exhibitions were held in 1949 and 1955.

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Rihard Jakopič je skupaj z Matijo Jamo, Ivanom Groharjem in Matejem Sternenom eden ključnih predstavnikov slovenskega impresionizma. Poleg bogate ustvarjalne kariere se je v našem prostoru uveljavil tudi kot likovni teoretik, pisec in pedagog. Z likovnim snovanjem je pričel tekom gimnazijskih let, ko je v prostem času obiskoval tečaj Jurija Tavčarja. Leta 1887 je študij nadaljeval na slikarski akademiji na Dunaju, dve leti kasneje pa se je odpravil še v München. Tudi tam je za kratek čas obiskoval slikarsko šolo pa vendar mu je bil akademski pristop vse prej kot sprejemljiv.

Ne glede na to, prav Münchensko obdobje predstavlja veliko prelomnico za Jakopičev nadaljnji razvoj. V mestu se je seznanil s Ferdom Veselom in Matijo Jamo, s katerima je slikal en plein air. Vsi trije so podprli tudi Antona Ažbeta, ki je leta 1891 v mestu odprl prvo zasebno slikarsko akademijo. Njegov pristop je bil sicer bližje Jakopiču a se je umetnik v tem času osredotočil na umetnine francoskih impresionistov s katerimi se je na lastne oči spoznal v kulturno bogatem središču. Navdušili so ga predvsem pastozni nanosi barve, ki so jih na platno nanašali s pomočjo lopatice in nizanje tonskih plasti pri čemer umetnine še vedno ohranjajo materialnost v upodabljanju objektov. Vse od tedaj je tudi Jakopič raziskoval učinke svetlobe v različnih delih dneva in v münchenski krajini na svojih platnih ustvarjal prave barvne simfonije. Tako kot Claude Monet je tudi on izdelal celo serijo podob z isto motiviko, kot npr. breze, gabri, motiv pri klavirju, Save in Križank. Njegov umetniški opus lahko v glavnem razdelimo v tri večje faze. Prva zaznamuje čas do leta 1906, ko se je iz tujine vrnil v Ljubljano in slikal v impresionistični maniri. Druga faza obsega čas med 1906 in 1917. Takrat je hipnemu vtisu dodal narativno in čustveno vsebino, njegov vihrav slog pa se je umiril in približal realizmu. Njegovo zadnje veliko obdobje sega med 1917 in 1928, ko se je umetnikov izraz najbolj približal barvnemu ekspresionizmu. Takrat nastanejo umetnikove monumentalne podobe, ki so opremljene z močno čustveno noto. Slikal ni zgolj v naravi ampak tudi po spominu in občutku. Pri tem so mu pomagale barve s katerimi je poleg impresionistične poteze v sliko skušal ujeti razpoloženj. V Jakopičevi zapuščini se je ohranilo nekaj več kot 1200 slik v tehniki olja na platno. Za seboj je pustil tudi približno 650 risb, ki jih je z ogljem risal na papir ter eno monumentalno poslikavo za obok Meksike. Čeprav Rihard Jakopič velja za bolj pomembnega slovenskega ustvarjalca nikakor ne smemo spregledati njegove pomembne vloge in goreče prizadevnosti s katero je skušal slovensko umetnost dvignil na višjo raven in ji omogočiti enakovreden razcvet kot so ga bili deležni slikarji v tujini. Pri tem se je oprl na vodilna evropska središča, v katerih je potekala močna kulturna angažiranost in vse to prinesti tudi k nam. Skupaj še z drugimi umetniki je soustanovil slovensko umetnostno društvo, ki je intenzivno razstavljalo dela slovenskih umetnikov. Prva razstava je potekala leta 1900. Z njo je tudi javnost dobila vpogled v novo nastajajočo umetnost, ki so jo za slovenski narod ustvarjali naši avtorji.

Dve leti kasneje ji je sledila še druga razstava na kateri se je formirala skupina slovenskih impresionistov. Skupaj so začeli slikati v okolici Škofje Loke, slovenskem Barbizonu. Leta 1904 so svoja dela skupinsko razstavili v salonu Miethke na Dunaju. Čeprav so jih pri nas zaničevali, so v avstrijski prestolnici prejeli dobre kritike s tem pa so na domačih tleh dosegli bolj spoštovan odnos. Jakopič je leta 1907 odprl svojo slikarsko šolo, leto kasneje pa Jakopičev paviljon oz. razstavišče v Tivoliju, ki je nudilo ugodne razmere za razstavljanje nove slovenske umetnosti. Po otvoritvi je v njem potekala tretja umetniška razstava, vse odtlej pa je v Ljubljani potekala intenzivnejša razstavna dejavnost. Nov pogled na umetnost, Jakopičevo prizadevanje in prostorska stiska v paviljonu so pripomogli k otvoritvi Narodne galerije, leta 1918. Skupaj s kolegi Savani so razstavljali na Dunaju in v Beogradu, leta 1904, leto kasneje pa tudi v Londonu in Sofiji. Po njegovi smrti so priredili dve obsežnejši razstavi, leta 1949 in 1955.

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:
Izidor CANKAR, s. v. Jakopič, Rihard (1869-1943), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 3 zv. Hinter – Kocen, Ljubljana 1928, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi246764/ (7.6.2024).
Špelca ČOPIČ, Slovensko slikarstvo, Ljubljana 1966.
Karel DOBIDA, s. v. Jakopič, Rihard, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 3, Zagreb 1964, p. 54.
Zoran KRŽIŠNIK, R. Jakopič, Ljubljana 1971.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Jakopič, Rihard, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
coll. 925-926.