Nikolaj Omersa (3 December 1911 – 3 December 1981) was a Slovene

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

Biography

Omersa was born in Idrija in 1911. He graduated from the

Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts The Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb ( hr, Akademija likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu or ALU) is a Croatian art school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art ...

in 1937. During the Second World War he was interred in

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

Mittelbau-Dora Mittelbau-Dora (also Dora-Mittelbau and Nordhausen-Dora) was a Nazi concentration camp located near Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany. It was established in late summer 1943 as a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp, supplying slave labour ...

and

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

s. After the war he taught in Ljubljana and was professor at the

Academy of Fine Arts and Design The Academy of Fine Arts and Design ( sl, Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje, also known by the acronym ALUO), is an art academy and institution based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

from 1954 to 1973. He received the Prešeren Foundation Award in 1969 for an exhibition of his work in Nova Gorica the previous year, and the Grand Prešeren Award in 1978 for his lifetime achievement. He also won the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

for his illustrations three times: in 1950 for his illustrations of

Milan Šega Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

's collection of stories '' Zgodbe o živalih'' (Stories about Animals), in 1955 for his illustrations of a Hungarian folk tale ''Zajčkov zvonček'' (Bunny's Bell) and in 1959 for three books - ''Skrivnostni jezdec'' (The Mysterious Rider) by Zane Grey, ''Pisani svet'' (Colourful World) by France Bevk and ''Pogumni kapitani'' (Captains Courageous) by Rudyard Kipling.

References

Slovenian male painters Slovenian illustrators People from Idrija 1911 births 1981 deaths Levstik Award laureates Prešeren Award laureates Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana 20th-century Slovenian painters 20th-century Slovenian male artists {{slovenia-artist-stub