(Kropa, 28.6.1874-Ljubljana, 24.12.1935)
Peter Žmitek was a Slovenian painter and illustrator who based his artistic expression on the style of Russian realists and visually unified it for the needs of the Slovenian nation. He got his first contact with art from his aunt Micka, who was a painter. He later enrolled in a vocational school in Ljubljana, and then went to Vienna for education. There he studied painting with an emphasis on academic classicism. He was more interested in the movement of pan-Slavic cultures than the dominant direction, for which he went to St. Petersburg.
He stayed in Russia between 1898 and 1902. There he trained in the studio of Princess Teniševa, led by the Russian realist Ilya Repin. The works of art of the soothsayers left an extremely strong impact on Žmitek. He was fascinated by their way of painting and the way in which they reacted to the situation in society and defined themselves critically. He continued his studies in Prague, where he met Rihard Jakopič. Although he and the artist were on good friendly terms and exhibited together several times, they did not significantly influence each other in the casting style. Žmitek mostly remained committed to the Russian model, except that his style softened and he used a lighter palette. The layers of paint became mottled, thereby moving away from the strict imitation of nature and breaking the sense of static in the paintings. Upon his arrival in his homeland, he devoted himself primarily to national issues. He was looking for new motifs with which he wanted to create monumental images for the Slovenian nation. He became close to Grohar in the field of art, with whom he also became friends. At the center of his universe he placed the Slovenian farmer, townsman or shepherd and portrayed him as a praiseworthy, hard-working individual who is the pride of the nation.
In addition to oil paintings, pastels and study sketches for scientific research manuals have also been preserved. Žmitko's artistic development was monitored by the art critic Ivan Prijatelj, who was extremely sympathetic to the artist. In his creations, he depicted landscapes, genres, still lifes, and portraits of people and animals. During his stay in Ljubljana, he spent some time lecturing as an art teacher. He exhibited several times at home and abroad and participated in many exhibitions together with our impressionists. After his death, a large-scale exhibition was held in his studio in Ljubljana. Today, Žmitek's works are also preserved in Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic.
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Peter Žmitek je bil slovenski slikar in ilustrator, ki se v likovnem izrazu oprl na slog ruskih realistov in ga je vizualno poenotil za potrebe slovenskega naroda. Prvi stik z umetnostjo je dobil pri teti Micki, ki je bila podobarka. Kasneje se je vpisal na obrtno šolo v Ljubljani, nato pa se je odpravil na izobraževanje na Dunaj. Tam je študiral slikarstvo s poudarkom na akademskem klasicizmu. Bolj kot prevladujoča usmeritev ga je zanimalo gibanje panslovanskih kultur, zaradi katerega je odšel v Sankt Peterburg.
V Rusiji je ostal med 1898 in 1902. Tam se je izpopolnjeval v ateljeju kneginje Teniševe, ki ga je vodil ruski realist Ilja Repin. Umetniška dela predvižnikov so na Žmitka pustila izjemno močan vpliv. Fasciniral ga je njihov način slikanja in način s katerim so reagirali na stanje v družbi in se do tega kritično opredelili. Študijsko pot je nadaljeval v Prago, kjer se je seznanil z Rihardom Jakopičem. Čeprav sta bila z umetnikom v dobrih prijateljskih odnosih in sta večkrat skupaj razstavljala, drug na drugega nista bistveno vplivala v livnem slogu. Žmitek je bolj kot ne ostal zavezan ruskemu vzoru, le da se je njegova poteza omehčala in da je uporabil bolj svetlo paleto. Nanosi barve so postali lisasti, s čimer se je odmaknil od strogega posnemanja narave in prekršil občutek statičnosti v slikah. Ob prihodu v domovino se je posvetil predvsem nacionalni tematiki. Iskal je nove motive, s katerimi je želel ustvarit monumentalne podobe za slovenski narod. V likovni snovi se je približal Groharju, s katerim je tudi prijateljeval. V središče svojega univerzuma je postavil slovenskega kmeta, meščana ali pastirja in ga upodobil kot hvalevrednega, delavnega posameznika, ki je v ponos narodu.
Poleg slik v olju so se ohranili tudi pasteli in študijske skice za znanstveno raziskovalne priročnike. Žmitkov umetnostni razvoj je spremljal umetnostni kritik Ivan Prijatelj, ki je bil izjemno naklonjen umetniku. Pri ustvarjanju je upodabljal tako krajine, žanr, tihožitja in portrete ljudi ter živali. Med bivanjem v Ljubljani je nekaj časa predaval kot likovni pedagog. Večkrat je razstavljal v doma in v tujini in sodeloval na številnih razstavah skupaj z našimi impresionisti. Po smrti so mu priredili obsežno razstavo v ateljeju v Ljubljani. Danes Žmitkova dela hranijo tudi v Rusiji, na Finskem in Češkem.
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:
Alenka KLEMENC, s.v. Žmitek, Peter (1874-1935), Slovenski biografski leksikon, 15. zv. Zdolšek – Žvanut, Ljubljana 1991, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi906737/ (21.6.2024).
Andrej SMREKAR, Peter Žmitek, Sto umetnin Narodne galerije (Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, ed. Mateja Breščak), Ljubljana 2016, pp. 128-130.
France STELE, Slovenski slikarji, Ljubljana 1949, p. 159.
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