(Verd, 20.9.1870- Ljubljana, 28.6.1949)
Matej Sternen belongs to the four great representatives of Slovenian impressionism. He was a skilled draftsman and graphic artist, and above all, he mastered the painting of figures in paste strokes. He began his studies in 1888 at the trade school in Graz, and then headed for Vienna. There he initially enrolled at the Künstgewerbeschule, and from there he continued his studies at the academy, where he graduated in 1896 and specialised in historical painting. He became the only Slovenian impressionist who completed his academic education. The Vienna period was followed by a visit to Munich. He stayed there until Ažbe's death, where he trained in his painting school. During this time, Sternen's colour scale gradually transformed from academically dark to lighter. His artistic language was still based on realistic drawing, but it began to soften during this time.
It was then that he made the first moves towards impressionism, which he clung to until 1911. He is considered the most reliable representative of all impressionists, as the artist tried to follow forms from nature as much as possible. His paintings are tonally unified. He enlivened them with color or light, which softens the composition. He strove for a dynamic framing of the motif, thereby offering a new experience of the subject in already established compositions. After returning to Ljubljana, he and his colleagues went out into nature several times. There they painted outdoors like their predecessors in France. They depicted the surroundings of Škofje loka, Gorenje vasi and Godešč. In 1908, he married the painter Roza Klein or Roza Sternen, and since then he has visited France and Italy several times. He stayed with his family for one year in Devin, where famous landscapes were created. Although he depicted various motifs, e.g. still lifes, histories and landscapes, he is best known for his figurative work. He focused mainly on portraits and female nudes, which he brought into our space after a lull of several centuries. When painters depicted naked women's bodies, they wrapped the figures in a mythological disguise. Sternen's ladies are no longer goddesses or saints, but living persons of flesh and blood who pose naked on the divan of the artist's studio.
In addition to painting, he was also involved in restoration. Together with France Stele, they undertook extensive conservation and restoration interventions. He photographed damaged frescoes that he believed could not be preserved. He also tried his hand at the fresco technique and painted the vault of the Franciscan church in Ljubljana. Most of his artworks were created in the oil on canvas technique, but he also mastered watercolors and drawing. In contrast to Savani, he also explored the graphic medium, which is why his oeuvre also includes lithographs, etchings, color monotypes, drypoint and lithography. Matej Sternen exhibited together with other Impressionists in Ljubljana, Vienna, Belgrade, London and Sofia. In 2023, in memory of the great artist, the National Gallery presented an extensive work of his legacy.
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Matej Sternen sodi med štiri velike predstavnike slovenskega impresionizma. Bil je spreten risar, in grafik, predvsem pa je obvladoval slikanje figure v pastozni potezi. Študijsko usmeritev je pričel leta 1888 na obrtni šoli v Gradcu, nato pa se je odpravil proti Dunaju. Tam se je sprva vpisal na Künstgewerbeschule, od tod pa je študijsko pot nadaljeval na akademijo, kjer je leta 1896 diplomiral in se specializiral za historično slikarstvo. Postal je edini slovenski impresionist, ki je končal akademsko izobrazbo. Dunajskemu obdobju je sledil obisk Münchna. Tam je ostal vse do Ažbetove smrti, kjer se je uril v njegovi slikarski šoli. V tem času se je Sternenova barvna skala iz akademsko temačne postopoma preoblikovala proti svetlejši. Njegova umetnostna govorica je še vedno temeljila na realistični risarski osnovi a se je v tem času pričela mehčati.
Takrat je naredil prve premike proti impresionizmu, ki se jih je oklenil vse do leta 1911. Velja za najstvarnejšega predstavnika me vsemi impresionisti, saj je umetnik čim bolj skušal slediti formam iz narave. Njegove slike so tonsko poenotene. Poživljal jih je z barvo ali pa svetlobo, ki mehčata kompozicijo. Stremel je k dinamičnemu kadriranju motiva, s čimer je ponudil novo doživljanje subjekta v že uveljavljenih kompozicijah. Po vrnitvi v Ljubljano se je skupaj s kolegi večkrat odpravil v naravo. Tam so slikal na prostem tako kot njihovi predhodniki v Franciji. Upodabljali so okolico Škofje loke, Gorenje vasi in Godešč. Leta 1908 se je poročil s slikarko Rozo Klein oz. Rozo Sternen, od takrat pa je večkrat obiskal Francijo in Italijo. Eno leto je skupaj z družino bival v Devinu, kjer so nastali znameniti pejsaži. Čeprav je upodabljal raznolike motive npr. tihožitja, histrorije in krajine, ga najbolj poznamo po figuraliki. Osredotočil se je predvsem na portrete in ženske akte, katere je v naš prostor vpeljal po nekaj stoletnem zatišju. Kadar so slikarji upodabljali gola ženska telesa, so figure ovili v mitološko preobleko. Sternenove dame pa niso več boginje ali svetnice ampak žive osebe iz mesa in krvi, ki gole pozirajo na divanu umetnikovega ateljeja.
Poleg slikarstva se je ukvarjal tudi z restavratorstvom. Skupaj s Francetom Steletom sta se lotila obsežnih konservatorskih in restavratorskih posegov. Snemal je poškodovane freske, za katere je menil, da jih ni mogoče ohraniti in situ. Preizkusil se je tudi v fresco tehniki in poslikal obok frančiškanske cerkve v Ljubljani. Največ njegovih umetnin je nastalo v tehniki olja na platno, obvladoval pa je tudi akvareli in risbo. V nasprotju s Savani je raziskoval tudi grafični medij, zato v njegovem opusu najdemo tudi litografije, jedkanice, barvne monotipije, suho iglo in kamnotisk. Matej Sternen je razstavljal skupaj z drugimi impresionisti v Ljubljani, na Dunaju, Beogradu, Londonu in Sofiji. Leta 2023 so v spomin na velikega umetnika v Narodni galeriji predstavili obsežen opus njegove zapuščine.
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:
Jelisava ČOPIČ, s. v. Sternen, Matej, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 4, Zagreb 1966, p. 325.
Špelca ČOPIČ, Slovensko slikarstvo, Ljubljana 1966.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Sternen Matej, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 2051.
Andrej SMREKAR, Matej Sternen, Sto umetnin Narodne galerije (Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, ed. Mateja Breščak), Ljubljana 2016, pp. 156-161.
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