Nude by Janaq Paço 2011 stampsheet of Albania

Janaq Paço (14 March 1914,“Gladitorët”, porositur dhe paguar nga Arkeologjiku i Durrësit
durreslajm.com (26 August 2013)

Konitsa Konitsa ( el, Κόνιτσα; see also names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina in Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian border. Northeast of Konitsa lies a group of villages known as the Zagoro ...

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...

– 11 July 1991,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

) was one of the best known Albanian sculptors of the 20th century. Some of his prominent works include the monuments of

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

in Kruja,

, and

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

(reproduced post-mortem), as well as ''The Gladiators''.

Life

He studied first in his home town and then at the high school in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece. Afterwards he entered the

Athens School of Fine Arts The Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA; el, Ανωτάτη Σχολή Καλών Τεχνών, ΑΣΚΤ, literally: Highest School of Fine Arts), is Greece's premier Art school whose main objective is to develop the artistic talents of its students ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. During his studies, Paço worked and studied with the Greek modern sculptor Costandinos Dimitriadis, himself a student of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, and others. He went to Albania in 1941. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked as a sculpture teacher in Artistic Lyceum "Jordan Misja" in Tirana, where he would teach all his life until retirement. Paço was one of the founders of the Albanian sculpture school and tradition. In addition to his realistic sculptures, Paço created also many

nude sculptures Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

during the 1960s and 1970s, and was obliged to destroy them, fearing punishment from the

Communist Regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

.Broken "nudes" of Janaq Paço got discovered
(in Albanian). shqiptarja.com, 18 December 2012 During this time he was criticized by other members of the Albanian League of Writers and Artists. This led him to gradually dissociate himself from the League.

Bibliography of art works

Main part of his work: * The monument of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kruj ...

(started in 1949; finished in 1959), which was later copied in

, after the 1998–1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

.Skanderbeg statue
inyourpocket.com * The monument of Skanderbeg (1968), today in "Scanderbeg Square" in Tirana, where he co-worked with the first Albanian sculptor

Odhise Paskali Odhise Paskali (22 December 1903 – 13 September 1985) is one of the most acclaimed Albanian sculptors. For his contribution, he was awarded the People's Artist of Albania award. Early life Paskali was born in 1903 in Përmet, Ottoman Empire. ...

and Andrea Mano * Two statues of

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

, and one of

Alexander Moissi Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(1960s) * The ''Gladiators'' (1973) (3.5 m), anticipated to be placed at the entrance of the ancient

Durrës Amphitheatre Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of the ...

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

* The sculptural group ''Skanderbeg with the People'' (1982), which is placed in the entrance of the

Skanderbeg Museum The National History Museum "Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu" ( sq, Muzeu Historik Kombëtar "Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu"), also known as the Skanderbeg Museum or the Kruja Museum, is located in Krujë and is one of the most important and visited m ...

Awards and prizes

* In 1984, he was awarded the title

People's Artist of Albania The People's Artist () was an honorary title for outstanding art performers of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, whose merits were exceptional in the sphere of development of the performing arts (theatre, music, cinema and art). It was c ...

. * At the exhibition "Spring '90" at the

National Art Gallery of Albania The National Museum of Fine Arts ( sq, Galeria Kombëtare e Arteve) is a national art museum in Tirana, Albania, under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. It features the work of well-known Albanian artist, such as Sadik Kaceli. In Octob ...

, Paço won first prize with his art work ''Girl's Portrait'' ( sq, Portret vajze), which one year earlier (before the fall of communism in Albania) was prohibited to be exhibited inside the gallery as a "modern art work".

References

External links

List of Articles from Albanian Library Bksh.al

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paco, Janaq 1914 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Albanian sculptors 20th-century sculptors Albanian sculptors Art educators Athens School of Fine Arts alumni People from Konitsa Artists from Tirana People's Artists of Albania Albanian people of Aromanian descent

Life

Bibliography of art works

Awards and prizes

See also

References

External links