(Zavodnje, 12.12.1888 - Šoštanj, 19.6.1960)
Ivan Napotnik was a Slovenian academic artist who showed his mastery mainly in small wooden sculptures. He began his education in 1903, when he attended the workshop of sculptor Andrej Rovšek in Ljubljana. In the same year, he enrolled in the School of Arts and Crafts. Sculpture and modeling were taught by Aloiz Repič, while drawing lessons were taken over by Celestin Mis.
Napotnik remained at the school until 1906, when he left for further studies in Vienna. In the imperial city, he helped in the sculpture workshop of Franz Zelezny for two years. In 1908, he enrolled in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. During this time, he designed quite a few statues that were placed in the new wing of the imperial court. They were also used to decorate the royal residence in Romania. During his stay in Vienna, Napotnik created a lot. From there he went to Budapest, where he honed his skills in the studio of Janoš Horvay. Although he wanted to stay there for a longer period, he had to interrupt his stay in the city, as the artist was soon mobilized into the army. He returned here after the end of the First World War.
Since 1922, Napotnik has lived in his homeland. He applied for the position of art teacher several times, but his attempts were unsuccessful. He did not receive any large-scale commissions in Ljubljana, so he was on the verge of survival most of the time. He prepared a few works for the church, but he was often visited by smaller clients. He created in wood, stone, clay, plaster and bronze. He also occasionally produced some watercolors and pastels. In the early phase, he often made interior furnishings and decorative elements. Later, he was mainly interested in monumental sculpture as the decor of tombstones or representative buildings. Most of his oeuvre has been preserved depicting women, but there are also some portraits and mythological motifs. At the beginning of his career, Napotnik's main role model was the sculptor Raphael Donner.
While studying abroad, he became interested in the figural art of Auguste Rodin and Ivan Meštrović. He quickly developed his own recognizable style, which he formed on the basis of a Baroque concept with simultaneous Art Nouveau accents. In his manner of depiction, he remained committed to a realistic approach, without trying to experiment. He mostly used materials that were available in his surroundings. His specialty is two-tone wooden sculptures, with the help of which he elevated the effect of the composition and achieved a greater aesthetic effect on the audience. He often dealt with social themes, as the artist's perception of the world was greatly influenced by the two world wars. In the mature phase of his creative work, he moved away to the countryside, and from there to Šoštanj, where he created until his death.
In 1963, a permanent exhibition of his most representative works was opened in honor of the artist. During his life, he exhibited several times in Vienna, Graz, and other major cities in the former Yugoslavia. His works are held by major art institutions in the country. Some are owned by private collectors.
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Ivan Napotnik je bil slovenski akademski umetnik, ki je svoje mojstrstvo pokazal predvsem v majhni leseni plastiki. S šolanjem je pričel leta 1903, ko je v Ljubljani obiskoval delavnico podobarja Andreja Rovška. Istega leta se je vpisal na Umetno obrtno šolo. Kiparstvo in modelacija sta potekala pod okriljem Aloiza Repiča, pouk risanja pa je prevzel Celestin Mis.
Na šoli je Napotnik ostal do leta 1906, ko se je odpravil na nadaljnji študij, na Dunaj. V cesarskem mestu je dve leti pomagal v kiparski delavnici Franza Zeleznyja. Leta 1908 se je vpisal na dunajsko Akademijo upodabljajočih umetnosti. V tem času je zasnoval kar nekaj kipov, ki so jih umestili na nov trakt cesarjevega dvora. Z njimi so okrasili tudi kraljevo rezidenco v Romuniji. Med bivanjem na Dunaju je Napotnik veliko ustvarjal. Od tod se je napotil v Budimpešto, kjer je spretnosti uril v ateljeju Janoša Horvaya. Čeprav si je tam želel ostati dlje časa, je z bivanjem v mestu moral prekiniti, saj so umetnika kmalu mobilizirali v vojsko. Sem se je vrnil nazaj po koncu prve svetovne vojne.
Od leta 1922, je Napotnik bival v domovini. Večkrat je kandidiral za službo likovnega pedagoga, a so bili njegovi poskusi neuspešni. V Ljubljani ni prejel velikopoteznih naročil, tako da je bil večino časa na robu preživetja. Nekaj del je pripravil za cerkev, večkrat pa so k njemu zahajali manjši naročniki. Ustvarjal je lesu, kamnu, glini, mavcu in bronu. Občasno je izdelal tudi kakšen akvarel in pastel. V zgodnji fazi je pogosto izdeloval notranjo opremo in dekorativne elemente. Kasneje ga je zanimala predvsem monumentalna plastika kot dekor nagrobnikov ali reprezentativnih stavb. V njegovem opusu se je ohranilo največ upodobitev žensk, nekaj pa je tudi portretov in mitoloških motivov. Na začetku kariere je bil poglavitni Napotnikov vzornik kipar Raphael Donner.
Med študijem v tujini se je pričel zanimati za figuraliko Augusta Rodina in Ivana Meštroviča. Hitro je razvil lastno prepoznaven slog, ki ga je izoblikoval na podlagi baročnega koncepta s sočasnimi secesijskimi poudarki. V načinu upodabljanja je ostal zavezan realističnemu pristopu, brez da bi poskušal eksperimentirati. Večinoma je uporabljal material, ki je bil na voljo v njegovi okolici. Njegovo posebnost predstavljajo dvobarvne lesene skulpture, s pomočjo katerih je povzdignil učinek kompozicije in pri občinstvu dosegel večji estetski učinek. Večkrat je obravnaval socialno tematiko, saj sta na umetnikovo dojemanje sveta močno vplivali svetovni vojni. V zreli fazi ustvarjanja se je odmaknil na podeželje, od tod pa še v Šoštanj, kjer je ustvarjal do smrti.
Leta 1963 so na čast umetnika otvorili stalno postavitev najbolj reprezentativnih njegovih del. V svojem življenju je večkrat razstavljal na Dunaju, v Gradcu in po večjih mestih nekdanje Jugoslavije. Njegova dela hranijo pomembnejše umetnostne institucije v državi. Nekaj jih imajo v lasti zasebni zbiratelji.
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:
Milena KOREN BOŽIČEK-Mojca JENKO, Življenjska pot Ivana Napotnika (1888-1960), Ljubljana 2006.
France STELE, s. v. Ivan Napotnik (1888-1960), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi384541/ (20.1.2025).
Uredništvo, s. v. Kiparstvo med socialističnim realizmom in konceptualizmom, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, pp. 117- 122.
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