(Vrhpolje, 11.11.1923 - Kamnik, 20.8.2007)
Leopold Mihelič, affectionately known as Polde, was a drawing teacher who showed his artistic talent already during his primary school education. In 1938, he met Stane Cuderman in Kamnik, who was preparing a painting for a Franciscan monastery. Mihelič was so impressed by the monumental work that he stayed in the master's workshop for a while.
At the beginning of World War II, he had to stop creating, as he was forcibly mobilized into the German army. In one of the battles, he was captured by Russian soldiers, who deported him to the Novosibirsk camp. After the war ended, he returned home. From 1949, he worked in Rudolf Schnabel's ceramic workshop, where he met Zoran Didek. He sent him to study at the Art Academy, as he recognized Mihelič as a talented artist. At first, he attended the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana, and then the Academy of Fine Arts. Due to political inadequacy, he was expelled from the academy before completing his education.
Mihelič spent most of his time teaching drawing in Ilirska Bistrica and Litija. There he also created a family, with whom he moved back to his native Oševek in the last phase of his career. He set up a studio in the house and continued to create. He mostly painted with oil paints on a wooden base. His artistic expression is characterized by a peasant idyll in a traditional rural environment. He often depicted small churches with bell towers and wooden houses with thatched roofs, but he did not forget the various customs and holidays from the Slovenian rural environment. In his works of art, he depicted simple people, whom he presented to the public somewhat humorously and in distorted proportions. He mainly used earthy tones, but despite this, the paintings appear somewhat dark.
Mihelič relied on realistic predecessors in his creations. In his clear and symmetrical compositions, he created a fantasy world in which he emphasized national consciousness. The paintings often tend upwards, which brought him closer to the Žirovnica naive artists. In addition to painting, he also wrote sketches and poems. He was extremely active in the field of exhibitions. He presented himself at 45 solo exhibitions and participated in 42 group exhibitions at home and abroad. Since 1987, he has been a member of the Slovenian Association of Fine Artists. In 1985, he was awarded the Tom Brejc Award, and in Kamnik he received a gold award for creativity.
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Leopold Mihelič, ljubkovalno Polde, je bil učitelj risanja, ki je svoj umetnostni talent nakazal že v času osnovnošolskega izobraževanja. Leta 1938 je v Kamniku spoznal Staneta Cudermana, ki je pripravljal poslikavo za frančiškanski samostan. Monumentalno delo je Miheliča tako navdušilo, da je nekaj časa ostal v mojstrovi delavnici.
Ob začetku druge svetovne vojne, je moral prenehati z ustvarjanjem, saj so ga prisilno mobilizirali v nemško vojsko. V eni izmed bitk so ga zajeli ruski vojaki, ki so ga deportirali v taborišče Novosibirsk. Po koncu vojne se je vrnil domov. Od leta 1949 je deloval v keramični delavnici Rudolfa Schnabla, kjer je spoznal Zorana Didka. Ta ga je napotil na izobraževanje na umetnostno akademijo, saj je Miheliča prepoznal kot nadarjenega ustvarjalca. Sprva je obiskoval Pedagoško fakulteto v Ljubljani, nato pa še likovno akademijo. Zaradi politične neustreznosti so ga pred koncem izobraževanja izpisali iz akademije.
Večino časa je Mihelič poučeval risanje v Ilirski Bistrici in v Litiji. Tam si je ustvaril tudi družino, s katero se je v zadnji fazi kariere preselil nazaj v rodni Oševek. V hiši si je uredil atelje in nadaljeval z ustvarjanjem. Največkrat je slikal z oljnimi barvami na leseno podlago. Za njegov likovni izraz je značilna kmečka idila v tradicionalni podeželski okolici. Pogosto je upodabljal cerkvice z zvoniki in lesene hiše s slamnato streho, ni pa pozabil niti raznovrstnih šeg in praznikov iz slovenskega ruralnega okolja. V likovnih delih je upodabljal preproste ljudi, ki jih je nekoliko hudomušno in v popačenih proporcih predstavil javnosti. Uporabljal je predvsem zemeljske tone, kljub temu pa slike delujejo nekoliko temačne.
Pri ustvarjanju se je Mihelič oprl na realistične predhodnike. V svojih jasnih in simetričnih kompozicijah je ustvaril fantazijski svet, v katerem je poudaril narodno zavest. Slike večkrat težijo v višino s čimer se je približal žirovniškim naivcem. Poleg slikanja je pisal še črtice in pesmi. Bil je izjemno aktiven na področju razstavljanja. Predstavil se je na kar 45 samostojnih razstavah, sodeloval pa je tudi na 42 skupinskih razstavah doma in v tujini. Od leta 1987 je postal član Društva slovenskih likovnih umetnikov. Leta 1985 so mu v podelili nagrado Toma Brejca, v Kamniku pa je prejel še zlato priznanje za ustvarjalnost.
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:
AK, Leopold (Polde) Mihelič, https://www.leksikon.si/Oseba/OsebaId/125 (25.1.2025).
Dušan LIPOVEC, Izginuli svet v slikah Poldeta Miheliča, Kamniški občan, XXX/3, Kamnik 1990, p. 6.
Miro PIVAR, Razstava Polde Mihelič (1927 – 2007) – Po poti naivnega slikarstva, 4.12.2013, https://domzalec.si/kultura/razstave/razstava-polde-mihelic-1923-2007-po-poti-naivnega-slikarstva/ (20.1.2025).
Uredništvo, s. v. Polde MIHELIČ, Obrazi slovenskih pokrajin, Kranj 2020, https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/mihelic-polde/ (20.1.2025).
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