(Ljubljana, 21.3.1892 - Golnik, 20.1.1978)
Anica Zupanec Sodnik was a Slovenian artist who painted mainly the intimate domestic world and motifs from her surroundings. She followed in the footsteps of 19th-century female painters who were mainly interested in depicting interiors and motifs from the everyday world.
She received her first painting education from Petar Žmitek and Rihard Jakopič, who organized private painting schools. Anica showed great enthusiasm for art early on. In order to develop her skills as best as possible, she traveled abroad for a while. She visited Munich, Prague and Florence. In these rich cultural centers, a variety of events in the field of art took place during the 20th century. This also greatly impressed Anica, who loved to paint during her travels. After returning to her homeland, she concentrated mainly on floral still lifes, landscapes and portraits of children. These were typically female motifs that her predecessors had already dealt with. Such themes were always within reach, especially for female painters.
She created a large number of images that radiate the beauty of the intimate world. Her works are full of maternal warmth and tenderness. She also painted interiors on several occasions, with a deep interest in details. She also established herself as a master of floral still lifes, as she depicted flowers in an exceptionally vivid and picturesque way. In her free time, the artist liked to visit the island of Krk, where she painted the coast and the sea. These often surpassed established motifs in quality and still hold a special place in the painter's oeuvre today. She most often used oil paints, but occasionally experimented with watercolors. She developed her own recognizable pictorial style with slightly blurred strokes and strong colors. She embraced the impressionist and expressionist approach to painting, which she supplemented with post-impressionist colors. By oscillating between the past and the present, she broke away from traditional painting methods and came closer to modern expression.
She has been described as a somewhat eclectic artist, as despite her exploration of techniques, she remained fascinated by the beauty of the former world. During her lifetime, she participated in only a few art exhibitions. She even participated in one of these during wartime. Her works were first exhibited in 1909 in Ljubljana, at a large exhibition of Slovenian artists. She also participated in an installation in Trieste, and she presented herself several times in all the cities of the former Yugoslavia. Her legacy was systematically presented in Kranj in 1985, followed by an exhibition in Krk. Since 1977, Anica has been a member of the Society of Slovenian Artists.
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Anica Zupanec Sodnik je bila slovenska umetnica, ki je slikala predvsem intimni domači svet in motive iz svoje okolice. Podala se je po stopinjah slikark 19. stoletja, ki so se zanimale predvsem za upodobitve interierjev in motivov iz vsakodnevnega sveta.
Prvo slikarsko izobrazbo je dobila pri Petru Žmitku in Rihardu Jakopiču, ki sta organizirala zasebni slikarski šoli. Anica je že zgodaj pokazala veliko navdušenje nad umetnostjo. Da bi svoje veščine čim bolje razvila, je za nekaj časa odpotovala v tujino. Obiskala je München, Prago in Firence. V teh bogatih kulturnih središčih se je tekom 20. stoletja odvijalo pestro dogajanje na področju umetnosti. To je močno navdušilo tudi Anico, ki je med potovanji rada slikala. Po vrnitvi v domovino, se je skoncentrirala predvsem na cvetlična tihožitja, krajine in portrete otrok. To so bili tipično ženski motivi, s katerimi so se ukvarjale že njene predhodnice. Takšne tematike so bile predvsem ženskimi slikarkam ves čas na dosegu roke. Izdelala je veliko število podob, ki izžarevajo lepoto intimnega sveta. Njena dela so polna materinske topline in nežnosti.
Večkrat je slikala tudi interierje, s poglobljenim zanimanjem za detajle. Uveljavila se je tudi kot mojstrica cvetličnih tihožitji, saj je na izjemno nazoren in slikovit način je upodabljala cvetlice. V prostem času je umetnica rada zahajala na otok Krk, kjer je slikala obalo in morje. Ti so po kvaliteti večkrat presegli ustaljene motive in še danes dosegajo posebno mesto v opusu slikarke. Največkrat je uporabila oljne barve, občasno pa je eksperimentirala tudi z akvareli. Razvila je lastno prepoznaven slikoviti slog z rahlo zabrisanimi potezami in močnim koloritom. Oklenila se je impresionističnega in ekspresionističnega pristopa k slikarstvu, ki ga je dopolnila s post impresionističnimi barvami. S tem, ko je nihala med preteklostjo in sočasnostjo, se je izvila iz tradicionalnih načinov slikanja in se je zbližala z moderno izraznostjo.
Označili so jo za nekoliko eklektično umetnico, saj je kljub raziskovanju tehnik ostala zazrta v lepoto nekdanjega sveta. V času svojega življenja se je udeležila le nekaj umetnostnih razstav. Na eni izmed teh je sodelovala celo v vojnem času. Njena dela so prvič razstavili leta 1909 v Ljubljani, na veliki razstavi slovenskih umetnikov. Sodelovala je tudi na postavitvi v Trstu, večkrat pa se je predstavila po vseh mestih bivše Jugoslavije. Njeno zapuščino so sistematično predstavili v Kranju, leta 1985, ki ji je sledila še razstava na Krku. Od leta 1977 je bila Anica včlanjena v Društvo slovenskih umetnikov.
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:
- Milček KOMELJ, Anica Zupanec Sodnik, https://www.sazu.si/clani/anica-zupanec-sodnik (21.5.2025).
- Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Zupanec Sodnik, Anica, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971, col. 2377.
- Asta ZNIDARIČ, s. v. Zupanec, Sodnik, Anica (1892-1978), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi886955/ (19.1.2025).
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