Slavko Pengov

(Ljubljana, 24.6.1908 - Ljubljana, 6.1.1966)

Slavko Pengov was an academic painter of Slovenian origin, who established himself primarily with monumental social-realist compositions. He was introduced to art in the workshop of his father Ivan Pengov, who was a successful sculptor and portrait painter. In his youth, he attended the Probuda art school, and in 1926 he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.

After successfully completing his diploma, he continued his education in Vienna, where he attended lectures at the Academy of Fine Arts. There, he trained in sculpture for a short time, and then returned to Ljubljana. At the beginning of his career, Slavko helped his father with important commissions. Already at this time, he established himself extremely well with clients, with the help of whom he was able to gain independence and decide to create independently. He produced monumental wall paintings before World War II.

At that time, they were decorated with church iconography, which was replaced after 1945 by visual material from the National Liberation Movement and other socialist motifs. In these, a large number of figures appear, symbolizing the nation. They fight for the common good and a better future. One of the most representative is the large allegory that he created for Villa Bled. Among the more important ones is also the painting of the National Assembly in Ljubljana, where he depicted the development of the history of Slovenians from the time of the immigration of peoples to the end of World War II. His images are highly dramatized and heighten the pathos in the viewer. All the depicted are painted very voluminously and convincingly. He shaded the figures with complementary colors in order to achieve the greatest possible plasticity. Most often, his compositions featured simple people, workers, farmers and soldiers, and the political elite that ruled after World War II.

Although the images contain some elements of modern painting, his figures are clear and understandable. Before painting, he always prepared a precise drawing, which helped him master the monumental concept. He mostly used calm colors with earthy and pastel tones. In the post-war period, he established himself as the most important artist of socialist realism. He received a large number of commissions with which he decorated representative buildings throughout Yugoslavia.

Pengov's oeuvre also includes several oil paintings, mosaics, drawings and studies, which testify to the artist's mastery of various painting techniques. At the beginning of his career, he mainly depicted children, but he also produced a few still lifes and self-portraits. In 1945, he began teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, where he remained until his retirement. He provided several literary works with his sketches, such as Finžgar's novel Pod svobodnim soncem and Cankar's Hlapec Jernej. In 1951, he received the Levstik Award, and eight years later, the Prešeren Award.

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Slavko Pengov je bil akademski slikar slovenskega rodu, ki se je uveljavil predvsem z monumentalnimi social-realističnimi kompozicijami. Z umetnostjo se je seznanil že v delavnici očeta Ivana Pengova, ki je bil uspešen kipar in podobar. V mladosti je obiskoval umetnostno šolo Probuda, leta 1926 pa se je vpisal na likovno akademijo v Zagreb.

Po uspešno opravljeni diplomi, je z izobraževanjem nadaljeval še na Dunaju, kjer se je udeležil predavanj na likovni akademiji. Tam se je kratek čas uril v kiparstvu, nato pa se je vrnil nazaj v Ljubljano. Na začetku kariere je Slavko pomagal očetu pri pomembnejših naročilih. Že v tem času, se je izjemno dobro uveljavil pri naročnikih, s pomočjo katerih se je lahko osamosvojil in se odločil za samostojno ustvarjanje. Monumentalne stenske poslikave je izdelal že v času pred 2. svetovno vojno.

Tedaj so bile opremljene s cerkveno ikonografijo, ki jo je po letu 1945 zamenjala likovna snov iz NOB in druga socialistična motivika. V teh se pojavi veliko število figur, ki simbolizirajo narod. Borijo se za skupno dobro in boljšo prihodnost. Ena najbolj reprezentativnih je velika alegorija, ki jo je izdelal za Vilo Bled. Med pomembnejše sodi tudi poslikava Državnega zbora v Ljubljani, kjer je prikazal razvoj zgodovine Slovencev od časa priseljevanja ljudstev pa do konca druge svetovne vojne. Njegove podobe so močno dramatizirane in pri gledalcu stopnjujejo patos. Vsi upodobljenci so naslikani zelo voluminozno in prepričljivo. Figure je senčil s komplementarnimi barvami, da bi dosegel čim večjo plastičnost. Največkrat se je v njegovih kompozicijah pojavilo preprosto ljudstvo, delavci, kmeti in vojaki ter politični vrh, ki je vladal po drugi svetovni vojni.

Čeprav podobe vsebujejo nekaj prijemov modernega slikarstva, so njegove figure jasne in razumljive. Pred slikanjem si je vselej pripravil natančno risbo, ki mu je pomagala pri obvladovanju monumentalne zasnove. Večinoma je uporabljal umirjene barve z zemeljskimi in pastelnimi toni. V po vojnem obdobju se je uveljavil kot najpomembnejši umetnik socialističnega realizma. Prejel je veliko število naročil, s katerimi je okrasil reprezentančne objekte po vsej Jugoslaviji.

V Pengovovem opusu je prisotnih še nekaj oljnih slik, mozaikov, risb in študij, ki pričajo o umetnikovem obvladovanju raznolikih slikarskih tehnik. Na začetku kariere je upodabljal predvsem otroke, izdelal pa je še nekaj tihožitji in avtoportretov. Leta 1945 je pričel poučevati na Akademiji za likovno umetnost v Ljubljani, kjer je ostal do upokojitve. S svojimi skicami je opremil več literarnih del, npr.: Finžgarjev roman Pod svobodnim soncem in Cankarjevega Hlapca Jerneja. Leta 1951 je prejel Levstikovo nagrado, osem let kasneje pa še Prešernovo nagrado.

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:
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Pengov, Slavko, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 1608.
Donovan PAVLINEC, s. v. Socialistični realizem, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, pp. 262-268.
Viktor STESKA, s. v. Pengov, Vladislav (1908-1966), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi412086/ (19.1.2025).
Fran ŠIJANEC, Sodobna slovenska likovna umetnost, Maribor 1961.