Extraordinary painter...

The National Gallery of Slovenia commemorates its centenary with an exhibition of the life and works of one of the most famous Slovenian artists of all time, Ivana Kobilca.

In the last two decades of the 19th century, the formation of Ivana Kobilca as a painter took place when realism in Europe became acceptable to the growing middle class that dominated the entire development of art through politics and ideology. She spent much of her adult life in foreign capitals, studying in Munich after Vienna, living in Paris, Sarajevo and Berlin, and only returning to Ljubljana at the beginning of World War I. She also painted outdoors during her tumultuous stay in Paris and the almost idyllic years in Sarajevo, and later devoted herself to still life in Berlin and Ljubljana.

Ivana Kobilca worked in world art centers during the 46 years of her artistic life, where she based her idiom on the greatest European naturalistic and symbolist painters. She was an associate member of the Société nationale des beaux-arts of France and was presented three times at its Salon. She has exhibited across Europe and was the first Slovenian artist to consistently and explicitly follow the three major Secessions' exhibitions (Vienna, Munich, Berlin). She carried out prestigious commissions for the Church and secular authorities in her homeland and in Bosnia, and was able to depict people from all walks of life and all ages, from Berlin millionaires, politicians, middle-class women and children to the original rustic characters of Upper Carniola, skilled in forming social relations.

She was not stopped by a lack of formal experience, poor health, aversion to criticism, and occasional undue hurry. Kobilca put everything she could to the test: from the Nietzschean bohemian lifestyle to vegetarianism and fencing and, along with her female friends and associates, she was one of the first women to succeed in gaining prominence in the predominantly male profession in modern times.

Around 140 works of art from all ages and genres are included in the first retrospective of Ivana Kobilca during the last four decades. 98) and Ferdo Vesel (1861-1946).

The circumstances of the allegorical image Slovenia Bows to Ljubljana, besides the background of Kobilca's plein air painting, are also clarified, as is the life and work of the artist in some of the cities she lived in: early and late Ljubljana, Paris, Sarajevo and Berlin.

The exhibition contains paintings from private collections that are almost unknown to the general public, in addition to her famous works, such as Summer and Woman Drinking Coffee. Together, the images represent the creative power of Kobilca and the diverse influences of European artistic epicentres.

Source of information: https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivana_Kobilca