(Slamnjak, 29.12.1894 – Maribor, 4.12.1970)
Ante Trstenjak was a Slovenian painter, graphic artist and illustrator who showed his artistic talent at a young age. He was born in Prlekija, where he received the basics of painting, and then continued his education in Graz. He enrolled in an arts and crafts school, but had to quickly abandon it due to the approaching war.
Trstenjak was slightly injured while serving in the military, so he was able to continue his education in Graz. Later, he headed to Vienna, and then the doors to the Zagreb Academy opened for the artist. During this time, great Croatian painters lectured to the students, who greatly influenced their attitude towards art. He completed his formal education in Prague in 1923. The Czech capital represented the cosmopolitan center of post-war Central Europe, in which a wide variety of cultural and artistic influences met. This creative period is considered his most fruitful time, as it is believed that he painted his best works at that time. In the city, Trstenjak made contact with numerous Slovenian artists, such as Stane Cuderman and Ivan Kos, and thus joined the circle of leading artists of the time.
In 1924 and 1925, he visited Italy, and also went to Paris. Together with other artists, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants. This gave Trstenjak a prominent place among contemporary painters, as only advanced avant-garde artists were allowed to exhibit at the famous venue. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Prague. In the city, he met Ludvik Kubo, who completely captivated the artist. He painted the folklore of the Lusatian Serbs, which strongly marked his work. In 1928, he traveled to Germany to become acquainted with the ethnic group firsthand. From then on, he shifted his interest to folklore motifs. In 1932, he returned to Prague again. He married there and stayed until 1950.
Despite being a foreigner, he became one of the most active members of the art community and successfully integrated himself into the local artists. During World War II, he joined the Czech underground and became personally acquainted with Josip Broz Tito. On this occasion, he painted his portrait, and then moved to Maribor. He also remained extremely active in Slovenia. He mostly painted with oil paints and watercolors, and occasionally produced some graphics. In his artistic expression, Trstenjak strove for harmony. He achieved this with a calm tonal scale and soft shading of figures.
He was interested in a wide variety of motifs, but his oeuvre is dominated by landscape motifs. A few still lifes and portraits have also been preserved. Today, 270 of Trstenjak's works are presented in the permanent collection of the Maribor Art Gallery. His prints from the Prague phase were exhibited for the first time in Ljutomer in 2025, which once again earned the artist a great reputation among the art audience.
---
Ante Trstenjak je bil slovenski slikar, grafik in ilustrator, ki je svoj umetnostni talent pokazal že v mladosti. Rodil se je v Prlekiji, kjer je prejel osnove slikarstva, nato pa z izobraževanjem nadaljeval v Gradcu. Vpisal se je na umetnoobrtno šolo, vendar jo je zaradi bližajoče se vojne moral hitro opustiti.
Ob služenju vojaškega roka se je Trstenjak lažje poškodoval, zato je lahko nadaljeval s šolanjem v Gradcu. Kasneje se je odpravil še proti Dunaju, nato pa so se umetniku odprla vrata na Zagrebško akademijo. V tem času so študentom predavali veliki hrvaški slikarji, ki so močno vplivali na njihov odnos do umetnosti. Formalno izobrazbo je leta 1923 zaključil v Pragi. Češka prestolnica je predstavljala kozmopolitsko središče povojne srednje Evrope, v katerem so se srečevali najrazličnejši kulturni in umetniški vplivi. To ustvarjalno obdobje velja za njegov najplodnejši čas, saj naj bi tedaj naslikal najboljša dela. V mestu je Trstenjak navezal stike s številnimi slovenskimi umetniki, kot npr. Stanetom Cudermanom in Ivanom Kosom in se tako vključil v krog tedanjih vodilnih ustvarjalcev.
V letih 1924 in 1925 je obiskal Italijo, odpravil pa se je tudi v Pariz. Skupaj z drugimi umetniki se je predstavil na Salonu neodvisnih. S tem so Trstenjaku priznali ugledno mesto med sočasnimi slikarji, saj so na znamenitem prizorišču smeli razstavljati le napredni avantgardni umetniki. Kmalu zatem se je vrnil v Prago. V mestu je spoznal Ludvika Kubo, ki je popolnoma očaral umetnika. Slikal je folkloro Lužiških Srbov, ki je močno zaznamovala njegovo ustvarjanje. Da bi se tudi sam seznanil z etnično skupino na lastne oči, je leta 1928 odpotoval v Nemčijo. Vse od tedaj je svoje zanimanje preusmeril k folklornim motivom. Leta 1932 se je zopet vrnil v Prago. Tam se je poročil in ostal vse do leta 1950.
Ne glede na to, da je bil tujec, je postal eden izmed najdejavnejših članov umetnostne skupnosti in se je uspešno vključil med lokalne umetnike. V času druge svetovne vojne se je priključil češki ilegali in se je osebno seznanil z Josipom Brozom Titom. Ob tej priložnosti je izdelal njegov portret, nato pa se je preselil v Maribor. Tudi na slovenskem je ostal izredno dejaven. Največkrat je slikal z oljnimi barvami in v tehniki akvarela, občasno pa je izdelal tudi kakšno grafiko. V likovnem izrazu je Trstenjak stremel k harmoniji. To je dosegel z umirjeno tonsko lestvico in mehkim senčenjem figur.
Zanimal se je za najrazličnejše motive, kljub temu pa v njegovem opusu prevladujejo predvsem krajinski motivi. Nekaj je ohranjenih tudi tihožitji in portretov. Danes je 270 Trstenjakovih del predstavljenih v stalni zbirki Umetnostne galerije v Mariboru. Njegove grafike iz praške faze so leta 2025 prvič razstavili v Ljutomeru, s čimer je umetnik ponovno prejel velik ugled med likovnim občinstvom.
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:
- Andreja BORIN, Ante Trstenjak: from the Maribor Gallery Collection, Umetnostna Glerija Maribor,
- https://www.ugm.si/fileadmin/dokumenti/program/Gostovanja/Ante_Trstenjak_iz_Zbirke_UGM/ANTE_TRSTENJAK_iz_zbirke_Umetnostne_galerije_Maribor_ANG_.pdf (1.5.2025).
-
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Trstenjak, Ante, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 2178. -
Mirjana VEŽA, s. v. Trstenjak, Ante, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 4, Zagreb 1966,
p. 458. - Julijana VӦRӦŠ, s. v. Trstenjak, Ante (1894-1970), Obrazi slovenskih pokrajin, 2025, https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/trstenjak-ante/ (12.6.2025).
For all additional information regarding the purchase and other services, you can contact us by phone or e-mail: info@portaalpina-gallery.com
We will try to answer you as soon as possible.