The Jakopič Pavilion ( sl, Jakopičev paviljon) was an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

in Ljubljana, the first purpose-built art exhibition venue in the territory of modern Slovenia. It was built in 1908 by the painter Rihard Jakopič upon the plans of the architect Max Fabiani. Bogo Zupančič: ''Usode ljubljanskih stavb in ljudi 73-93'' (Ljubljana, 2008), 36. The pavilion stood at the beginning of the Latterman Avenue in Tivoli Park. Until World War II, it was the central exhibition place of Slovene visual artists,RTVSLO.si - Rihard Jakopič (1869–1943)
/ref> presenting exhibitions from the fields of painting, sculpture and photography.

History

Jakopič financed the construction of the building at his own expense, because he was convinced that an artist needs a constant contact with the public. Fabiani arranged plans for it gratuitously, and the city of Ljubljana leased him the estate at a symbolic price. The pavilion was built in the Vienna Secession style. It had a foyer with the great hall, on the left side it had a room for permanent exhibitions and a small studio, and on the right side it housed a drawing and painting school. The building was solemnly opened on 12 June 1909 with the 3rd Slovene Art Exhibition, which presented 172 paintings and 20 statues of 22 artists. The following year Jakopič organised a

survey exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

titled ''80 Years of Visual Arts in the Slovene Lands''. Due to the lack of money, the pavilion was bought in 1923 by the city, which gave it to the

National Gallery of Slovenia The National Gallery of Slovenia ( sl, Narodna galerija) is the national art gallery of Slovenia. It is located in the capital Ljubljana. It was founded in 1918, after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the State of Sloven ...

. In 1954 the pavilion was renovated. In December 1961 and January 1962 the pavilion was, despite avid protests, demolished due to the construction of the Ljubljana–Sežana railway line. This left the Jakopič Pavilion without its headquarters. In 1962, the institution was renamed to

Ljubljana City Art Museum Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and the construction of a new headquarters building started at 5 Town Square. The pavilion has been commemorated by a portrait statue of Rihard Jakopič, created by

Bojan Kunaver Bojan (Serbian Cyrillic and Macedonian: Бојан; Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian Cyrillic: Боян, transcribed ''Boyan'') is a Slavic given name, derived from the Slavic noun ''boj'' "battle." The ending ''-an'' is a suffix frequently found ...

.Bogo Zupančič. ''Usode ljubljanskih stavb in ljudi 73-93'' (Ljubljana, 2008), 39.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakopic Pavilion Art museums and galleries in Ljubljana Pavilion Max Fabiani buildings Art Nouveau architecture in Ljubljana Demolished buildings and structures in Slovenia Buildings and structures completed in 1908 Buildings and structures demolished in 1962 Slovenian art Art Nouveau museum buildings 1908 establishments in Austria-Hungary