Maks Koželj

(Kamnik, 30.3.1883-Kamnik, 1.8.1956)

Maks Koželj was a Slovenian painter who came from a family of painters. He received his first art education from his father, Matija Koželj, as he helped him in the workshop as a small boy. After finishing elementary school, in 1896 he enrolled at an artificial craft school in Ljubljana. There he prepared for the entrance exam, which was absolutely necessary for entering the Vienna Academy of Arts. Although he successfully completed his duties in 1900, he only stayed in the imperial city for a few months. His further education was prevented by an illness that forced him to return home. He gave up his ambitions of great painting and concentrated on sacral commissions, which he and his father made together in the workshop.

He painted in oil and tempera, and some watercolours and frescoes have also been preserved. Max was not just a skilled painter. The real specialty in his work was represented by the mountain landscapes and mountains that the artist observed in the vicinity of Kamnik. He usually painted these on bright days or after a storm. He was interested in the refined image of the mountain landscape, which is filled with the rays of the sun. This is often in pastel and pale pink accents, which deviates from the real world but conjures up the atmosphere of a monumental landscape. Images of mountains are represented in his paintings from all periods. He was an active hiker and organizer of the Kamnik Mountaineering Association and the mountain rescue service. He made many sketches in the field, which helped him in painting in the studio. When his health condition improved, he visited Prague, where he got acquainted with the artistic production there.

Later, he went to Munich and, like his predecessors, copied works of art. With this, he tried to fill the gap in his painting caused by his premature resignation from the academy. Maks Koželj also participated in art exhibitions. The first one at which he presented himself to the public took place in 1909 in the Jakopič Pavilion. Later, he exhibited in Ljubljana between 1921 and 1926, and his works also reached Zagreb.

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Maks Koželj je bil slovenski slikar, ki je izviral iz družine podobarjev. Prvo likovno izobrazbo je dobil pri očetu Matiji Koželju, saj mu je kot majhen deček pomagal v delavnici. Po končani osnovni šoli se je leta 1896 vpisal na umetno obrtno šolo v Ljubljani. Tam se je pripravljal na sprejemni izpit, ki je bil nujno potreben za vstop na dunajsko umetnostno akademijo. Čeprav je leta 1900 uspešno opravil obveznosti, je v cesarskem mestu ostal le nekaj mesecev. Nadaljnjo izobrazbo mu je onemogočila bolezen zaradi katere se je moral vrniti domov. Opustil je ambicije velikega slikarstva in se je osredotočil na sakralna naročila, ki sta jih z očetom skupaj izdelovala v delavnici.

Slikal je v olju in temperi, nekaj pa se je ohranilo tudi akvarelov in fresk. Maks ni bil zgolj spreten podobar. Pravo posebnost v njegovem opusu predstavljalo gorske krajine in planine, ki jih je umetnik opazoval v okolici Kamnika. Te je običajno upodabljal v svetlih dneh ali po nevihti. Zanimala ga je izčiščena podoba gorske krajine, ki jo napolnjujejo žarki sonca. Ta je večkrat v pastelnih in bledo rožnatih poudarkih, kar sicer odstopa od realnega sveta vendar pričara atmosfero monumentalne krajine. Upodobitve gora so v njegovem slikarstvu zastopane v vseh obdobjih. Bil je namreč aktiven pohodnik in organizator kamniškega planinskega društva ter gorske reševalne službe. Na terenu je izdelal številne skice, ki so mu pomagale pri slikanju v ateljeju. Ko se mu je zdravstveno stanje izboljšalo, je obiskal Prago, kjer se je seznanil s tamkajšnjo umetnostno produkcijo.

Kasneje se je odpravil še v München in tako kot njegovi predhodniki kopiral umetnine. S tem je v svojem slikarstvu skušal zapolniti vrzel, ki jo je povzročil predčasen odstop iz akademije. Maks Koželj se je udeleževal tudi umetnostnih razstav. Prva, na kateri se je predstavil javnosti je potekala leta 1909 v Jakopičevem paviljonu. Kasneje je v Ljubljani razstavljal še med 1921 in 1926, njegova dela pa so segla tudi v Zagreb.

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:
Franc Ksaver LUKMAN, s. v. Koželj, Maks (1883-1956), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 4 zv. Kocen – Lužar, Ljubljana 1932, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi297850/#slovenski-biografski-leksikon (3.6.2024).
Tine Orel, Slovenske gore v podobi, Planinski vestnik, 546, 1956.
https://www.leksikon.si/Oseba/OsebaId/120