(Ljubljana, 4.1.1872 - Ljubljana, 6.4.1947)
Matija Jama, established himself as one of the main representatives of Impressionism in Slovenia. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in law studies in Zagreb. He stayed there only for a short time, as his desire for an education in the arts led him to Monaco.
He first attended the Hlosy School, where he became acquainted with a fresh approach to painting. Although he showed talent early on, he returned home due to financial shortages. He returned to the art center again in 1897, when he received a scholarship, which allowed him to enroll in the Ažbet Painting School. It was considered a revolutionary institution in which artists returned to painting from nude models. It supported numerous young artists who, with the help of professors, developed innovations in their artistic expression. In the last phase of the Munich period, he also attended the local academy. He received an official art title and embarked on the path towards an independent painting career. At the turn of the century, Matija Jama returned home.
During this time, he painted several times with Rihard Jakopič and other Slovenian impressionists. Already in the early stages of his creative work, the young artist was interested in the unknown world, which was different from the one in his homeland. He was a great adventurer. During his artistic career, he traveled to Croatia, Serbia and Austria, and in 1910 he travelled to the Netherlands. There he met the Dutch painter Lujiza van Raders, with whom he moved to The Hague. During his travels, Jama was always accompanied by oil paints and canvas, on which he tried to capture interesting moments from his surroundings. He painted with quick strokes. In doing so, he most often resorted to pure and bright shades, with the help of which he created a wide range of motifs. The artist's exploration of light can be seen in his artistic expression. He was especially interested in how it changes at different times of the day and in weather phenomena. He repeated individual motifs in several series to capture the changing nature. He emphasized the objects in his paintings with shading.
He adapted these to the tonal palette. In his white and snowy landscapes, blue contrasts appeared, while in darker canvases he used complementary colors for shading. This way of painting elevated the plasticity of Jam's figures and objects, which he arranged on the canvas. Most of the artworks do not represent a true projection of the everyday world, but rather an embellished environment. This allowed the artist to move away from poverty and social issues, which were often represented themes by other contemporaries. Although in the late phase of his work he lengthened his painting stroke somewhat and it became freer, the artist remained committed to the impressionist technique throughout his life. In addition to his work, he also tried his hand at writing writings and short texts about art.
He was involved in Slovenian visual art production and art criticism. During his prolific career, he exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions in all major European capitals. In 1938, he was accepted to the Venice Biennale. There, he was the first Slovenian to exhibit his works, and they were a great success among art lovers.
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Matija Jama, se je uveljavil kot eden izmed poglavitnih predstavnikov impresionizma na Slovenskem. Po končani srednji šoli se je vpisal na študij prava v Zagreb. Tam je ostal le kratek čas, saj ga je želja po izobraževanju v umetnostni smeri vodila v Monakovo.
Najprej je obiskoval Hlosyjevo šolo, kjer se je seznanil s svežim pristopom v načinu slikanja. Čeprav je že zgodaj pokazal talent, se je zaradi finančnega primanjkljaja vrnil domov. V likovno središče se je zopet vrnil leta 1897, ko je prejel štipendijo, s pomočjo katere se je lahko vpisal na Ažbetovo slikarsko šolo. Veljala je za revolucionarno institucijo, v kateri so se umetniki vrnili k slikanju po golih modelih. V njej so podprli številne mlade ustvarjalce, ki so ob pomoči profesorjev razvili novosti v svojem likovnem izrazu. V zadnji fazi münchenskega obdobja, je obiskoval tudi lokalno akademijo. Pridobil je uraden umetnostni naziv in se podal na pot proti samostojni slikarski karieri. Ob prelomu stoletja se je Matija Jama vrnil domov.
V tem času je večkrat slikal z Rihardom Jakopičem in drugimi slovenskimi impresionisti. Že v zgodnji fazi ustvarjanja, je mladega umetnika zanimal neznani svet, ki je bil drugačen od tistega, v domovini. Bil je velik avanturist. Tekom umetnostne kariere se je odpravil na Hrvaško, v Srbijo in v Avstrijo, leta 1910 pa je odpotoval na Nizozemsko. Tam je spoznal holandsko slikarko Lujizo van Raders, s katero sta se preselila v Haag. Med potovanji so Jamo vseskozi spremljale oljne barve in platno, v katerega je skušal ujeti zanimive trenutke z okolice. Slikal je s hitrimi potezami. Pri tem je največkrat posegel po čistih in svetlih odtenkih, s pomočjo katerih je ustvaril širok spekter motivov. V likovnem izrazu je mogoče opaziti umetnikovo raziskovanje svetlobe. Zanimalo ga je predvsem kako se ta spreminja ob različnih delih dneva in vremenskih pojavih. Posamezne motive je ponovil v več serijah, da ujel spreminjajočo se naravo. Predmete v slikah je poudaril s senčenjem.
Te je prilagodil tonski paleti. V njegovih belih in zasneženih pokrajinah so se pojavili modri kontrasti, v temnejših platnih pa je za senčenje uporabil komplementarne barve. Takšen način slikanja je privzdignil plastičnost Jamovih figur in predmetov, ki jih je razpostavil po slikarskem platnu. Večina umetnin ne predstavlja resnične projekcije vsakdanjega sveta ampak olepšano okolico. S tem se je umetnik lahko odmaknil stran od revščine in socialne problematike, ki sta bili pogosto zastopani tematiki pri drugih sodobnikih. Čeprav je v pozni fazi ustvarjanja slikarsko potezo nekoliko podaljšal in je ta postala svobodnejša, je umetnik skozi vse življenje ostal zavezan impresionistični tehniki. Poleg ustvarjanja se je preizkusil tudi v pisanju spisov in krajših besedil o umetnosti.
Ukvarjal se je s slovensko likovno produkcijo in umetniško kritiko. V njegovi plodoviti karieri se je večkrat predstavil na samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah, po vseh pomembnejših evropskih prestolnicah. Leta 1938 so ga sprejeli na beneški bienale. Tam je svoja dela razstavil kot prvi Slovenec in je z njimi požel velik uspeh med ljubitelji umetnosti.
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:
Špelca ČOPIČ, Slovensko slikarstvo, Ljubljana 1966.
Lelja DOBRONIĆ, s. v. Jama, Matija, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 3, Zagreb 1964, pp. 56-57.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Jama, Matija, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 926.
France MESESNEL, s. v. JAMA, Matija (1872-1947), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 3 zv. Hinter – Kocen,
Ljubljana 1928, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi247069/ (3.1.2025).
France STELE, Slovenski slikarji, Ljubljana 1949, pp. 142-143.
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