(Ljubljana, 23.1.1872 – Ljubljana, 7.1.1957)
Jože Plečnik was a versatile artist who left a significant architectural mark on Slovenia and elsewhere in Europe. His love of design originated in his home environment. Plečnik's father was a carpenter, so Jože was able to watch him at work from a young age.
Since he himself noticed how skilled he was at design, he advised him to continue the family tradition. Nevertheless, Jože decided on a different career path, as he was bound by a great love of art. After finishing elementary school, he enrolled in the School of Arts and Crafts in Graz. There he developed his first technical and design skills, which he skillfully built on throughout his life. He later went to Vienna, where he studied architecture. He attended lectures by Otto Wagner, who guided the artist on the path of research and supported Plečnik's unique architectural style. In it, Plečnik combined the principles of classical architecture with a modern approach to design.
In addition to functionality, his works became extremely decorative and carry a special symbolism. This is supposed to be revealed to the user of the building when walking through the architecture. Plečnik prepared the most projects for Ljubljana. According to his plans, the city center was supposed to become like a "new Athens". Some of his early architecture can also be found in Vienna. The most important of these is the Zaherl residential house, and he also took a prominent place in Prague. He participated in the renovation of Hradčany and took care of the park and public space around this representative building. His influence eventually spread to the rural environment. He designed numerous churches in Slovenia and in foreign cities, which vary greatly in style.
In his later years, Plečnik devoted himself mainly to smaller projects. In these, his love for detail is particularly visible. He designed furniture, lighting, liturgical objects and other decorative elements, which demonstrate the architect's skill in designing a wide variety of objects. All the buildings that were created according to Plečnik's plans are strongly decorative. He created small objects with an exceptional sense of beauty and harmony. He decorated them with gilding, precious or semi-precious stones, or placed a figure on the objects.
Plečnik was a deeply religious personality, which can be seen in the emphasized symbolism of the objects. In architectural expression, he greatly influenced the first generation of students who graduated from the Faculty of Architecture. He worked there as a head professor. Plečnik is undoubtedly one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, who enriched Slovenian and world cultural heritage with his creativity and left behind a wide range of architectural achievements.
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Jože Plečnik je bil vsestransko nadarjen ustvarjalec, ki je pustil pomemben arhitekturni pečat na Slovenskem, pa tudi drugod po Evropi. Njegova ljubezen do oblikovanja izvira iz domačega okolja. Plečnikov oče je bil namreč mizar, zato ga je Jože že od mladih let lahko spremljal pri delu.
Ker je tudi sam opazil kako vešč je pri oblikovanju, mu je svetoval naj nadaljuje družinsko tradicijo. Kljub temu se je Jože odločil za drugačno karierno pot, saj ga je zavezovala velika ljubezen do umetnosti. Po končani osnovni šoli se je vpisal na umetnoobrtno šolo v Gradec. Tam je razvil prve tehnične in oblikovalske veščine, na katerih je spretno gradil skozi celotno življenje. Kasneje se je odpravil na Dunaj, kjer je študiral arhitekturo. Obiskoval je predavanja Otta Wagnerja, ki je umetnika usmeril na poti raziskovanja in je podprl Plečnikov edinstven arhitekturni slog. V njem je Plečnik združil zakonitosti klasične arhitekture z modernim pristopom k oblikovanju.
Njegova dela so tako poleg funkcionalnosti postala izredno dekorativna in nosijo posebno simboliko. Ta naj bi se uporabniku objekta razodela pri sprehodu skozi arhitekturo. Največ projektov je Plečnik pripravil za Ljubljano. Po njegovih načrtih naj bi mestno središče postalo kot "nove Atene". Nekaj njegovih zgodnjih arhitektur najdemo tudi na Dunaju. Med njimi je najpomembnejša Zaherlova stanovanjska hiša, vidno mesto pa je zavzel tudi v Pragi. Sodeloval je pri obnovi Hradčanov in je okoli tega reprezentativnega objekta poskrbel predvsem za parkovno ureditev in javni prostor. Njegov vpliv se je sčasoma razširil tudi v ruralno okolje. Izdelal je številne cerkve na Slovenskem in v tujih mestih, ki pa močno variirajo po slogu.
V poznejših letih se je Plečnik posvetil predvsem manjšim projektom. V teh je še posebej vidna ljubezen do detajlov. Oblikoval je pohištvo, svetila, liturgične predmete in druge dekorativne elemente, ki kažejo na spretnost arhitekta pri oblikovanju najrazličnejših predmetov. Vsi objekti, ki so nastali po načrtih Plečnika so močno dekorativni. Drobne predmete je ustvarjal z izjemnim občutkom za lepoto in harmonijo. Okrasil jih je s pozlato, dragimi ali poldragimi kamni ali pa je na predmete umestil kakšno figuro.
Plečnik je bil globoko verna osebnost, kar je mogoče opaziti v poudarjeni simboliki predmetov. V arhitekturnem izrazu je močno vplival na prvo generacijo študentov, ki so diplomirali na Fakulteti za arhitekturo. Tam je deloval kot glavni profesor. Plečnik je nedvomno eden največjih arhitektov 20. stoletja, ki je s svojo ustvarjalnostjo obogatil slovensko in svetovno kulturno dediščino in je za seboj pustil široko paleto arhitekturnih dosežkov.
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:
- Andrej HRAUSKY, Arhitekturni vodnik po Ljubljani. 107 izbranih zgradb. Ljubljana 2007.
- Andrej HRAUSKY, Jože Plečnik. Dunaj, Praga, Ljubljana 2006
- Andrej HRAUSKY, Plečnikova arhitektura v Ljubljani. Ljubljana: Muzej in galerija mesta Ljubljane, 2017.
- France STELE, s. v. Plečnik, Jože (1872-1957), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi432634/ (23.6.2025).
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