Fran Klemenčič

(Ljubljana, 12.10.1880 - Ljubljana, 2.11.1961)

Fran Klemenčič was a Slovenian painter of the 20th century, who focused mainly on the representation of landscapes. He began to develop his talent in his early youth, as he liked to sketch and carve in his free time. His parents supported his creativity, who sent him to study in Koprivnica. There, he worked with the sculptor Anton Rihar, with whom he stayed for three years. At the turn of the century, Fran enrolled in the School of Arts and Crafts in Ljubljana, together with M. Gaspari and M. Koželj.

He first presented his art in 1902, when two academic works by the young artist were exhibited at the National House. At the exhibition, he received positive criticism, which enabled him to continue his studies in Vienna and Munich. There, he became acquainted with the leading currents of art and developed his own artistic language. In the first phase of his creative work, Klemenčič was inspired by the Slovenian realists led by Vesel and Vavpotič. In his style, he also combined the principles of the Impressionists and Vesnan, which ensured a sufficiently large circle of clients among the domestic audience.

Already at this time, he liked to go out into nature. There he prepared a sketch with which he helped himself when painting in the studio. He also often studied the works of Viennese landscape painters, who were inspired by Segantini and the mood of Impressionist artists. He also copied the works of famous painters in Munich, as he did not have enough funds to enroll in the academy. The city was considered an important meeting place for various stylistic trends, as the most famous painters came to it. After returning to Ljubljana, he painted religious works, portraits, and delved primarily into the Slovenian countryside. He was characterized by pasty applications of paint and a wide spectrum of colors, which took into account the laws of nature and the artist's inner feelings. In 1909, he moved to Ljubljana with his family, as he received too few orders in the countryside. There he met again with the Impressionists and Vesnani, who had a drastic influence on the change in Klemenčič's style.

His colour scheme became brighter, and he shaped objects with the help of shading and lighting, which made his works more artistic. He painted with pastels, coloured pencils and oil paints. During this period, he depicted the peasant genre, which he adapted to bourgeois taste. He continued with it even after World War I, when he joined the Sava art club. Fran Klemenčič reached the peak of his creativity in the Moravian period, when he depicted personally experienced motifs in vibrant colours. His strokes became more fluid, and his style became closer to colour realists. Between 1924 and 1928 the artist developed an ideal image of the landscape. At the end of his life, he painted mainly floral still lifes. Although he exhibited with his fellow painters several times, art criticism was not very favourable to him.
He treated the subject matter in a realistic style. He introduced his mood and attitude to the motif into his paintings through strokes, colour density, and palette.

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Fran Klemenčič je bil slovenski slikar 20. stoletja, ki se je osredotočil predvsem na reprezentacijo krajine. Talent je pričel razvijati že v rani mladosti, saj je v prostem času rad skiciral in rezbaril. Pri ustvarjanju so ga podpirali starši, ki so ga poslali na izobraževanje v Koprivnico. Tam je ustvarjal podobar Anton Rihar, pri katerem je ostal tri leta. Na prelomu stoletja se je Fran skupaj z M. Gasparijem in M. Koželjem vpisal na umetnoobrtno šolo v Ljubljani.

S svojo umetnostjo se je prvič predstavil leta 1902, ko so Narodnem domu razstavili dve akademski deli mladega umetnika. Na razstavi je prejel pozitivno kritiko, ki mu je omogočila nadaljevanje študija na Dunaju in v Münchnu. Tam se je seznanil z vodilnimi toki umetnosti in izoblikoval lastno likovno govorico. V prvi fazi ustvarjanja se je Klemenčič zgledoval po slovenskih realistih z Veselom in Vavpotičem na čelu. V slogu je združil tudi načela impresionistov in Vesnanov, s čimer si je zagotovil dovolj velik krog naročnikov med domačim občinstvom.

Že v tem času je rad zahajal v naravo. Tam je pripravil skico s katero si je pomagal pri slikanju v ateljeju. Pogosto je študiral tudi dela dunajskih krajinarjev, ki so se navdihovali pri Segantiniju in razpoloženjski impresionističnih umetnikov. Tudi v Münchnu je kopiral dela znanih slikarjev, saj ni imel dovolj sredstev za vpis na akademijo. Mesto je veljalo kot pomembno stičišče raznovrstnih slogovnih usmeritev, saj so vanj prihajali najimenitnejši slikarji. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano je slikal nabožna dela, portretiral, poglobil pa se je predvsem v slovensko podeželje. Zanj so bili značilni pastozni nanosi barve in širok spekter barv, ki je upošteval zakonitosti v naravi in notranje občutenje umetnika. Leta 1909 se je z družino preselil v Ljubljano, saj je na podeželju prejel premalo naročil. Tam se je ponovno srečal z impresionisti in Vesnani, ki so drastično vplivali na spremembo v Klemenčičevem slogu.

Njegov kolorit je postal bolj svetel, predmete pa je oblikoval s pomočjo senčenja in svetlenja s čimer so njegova dela postala bolj umetniška. Slikal je s pasteli, barvnimi svinčniki in oljnimi barvami. V tem obdobju je upodabljal kmečki žanr, ki ga je prilagodil meščanskemu okusu. Z njim je nadaljeval tudi po 1. svetovni vojni, ko se je pridružil umetniškemu klubu Sava. Fran Klemenčič je vrh ustvarjalnosti dosegel v Moravški dobi, ko je v živahnih barvah upodabljal osebno doživete motive. Njegove poteze so postale bolj tekoče, v slogu pa se je približal barvnim realistom. Potekala je med 1924 in 1928, ko je umetnik razvijal idealno podobo krajine. Na koncu življenja je slikal predvsem cvetlična tihožitja. Čeprav je s svojimi slikarskimi kolegi večkrat razstavljal, mu umetnostna kritika ni bila najbolj naklonjena.
Likovno snov obravnaval v realističnem slogu. V slike je s pomočjo potez, gostote barve in palete vnesel svoje razpoloženje in odnos do motiva.

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

SOURCES/VIRI:
Anica CEVC, Fran Klemečič, Fran Zupan, Kanal 1979.
Ana STERLE, Tehnologija slik Frana Klemenčiča in problematika slike "Dekle v narodni noši", magistrska naloga (Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje), https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=155930&lang=slv (20.12.2024).
Polonca VRHUNC, Fran Klemenčič 1880-1961, Ljubljana 1993.
Uredništvo, s. v. Klemenčič Franc (1880-1961), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 3, Hinter-Kocen, 1928-2024, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi275740/ (3.12.2024).