Zef Kolombi (March 3, 1907 – January 23, 1949) was an Albanian painter.

Early life

Zef Kolombi was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

to John Kolombi and Francisca Hajdovnik-Kolombi. His father was

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

and his mother was of Slovene descent. His father, John, was the owner of an hotel in Sarajevo; he died in 1910, and a year later, his mother died. Kolombi, along with his sister Vera, moved to

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

with their grandmother, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. After the death of his grandmother, the two children were in the care of their godfather, Sokrat Shkreli. His sister Veronika Kolombi is the grandmother of the Prime Minister of Albania,

Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairm ...

Career

, he finished elementary school-orphanage opened by the Austrians, and spent three years in the Jesuit school. He found a devotion to painting, his passion, but with difficulty. He went to Italy and visited museums, art galleries and exhibitions of painting. At the age of 18, Kolombi returned to Shkodër and worked as a clerk in the Hotel Grand. In 1929, after receiving a state scholarship from Hil Mosi,Robert Elsie (2010) "Zef Kolombi" in ''Historical Dictionary of Albania''. Scarecrow Press. p. 237. Kolombi departed again for Italy, where he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome.Sulejman Dashi, "Zef Kolombi" in ''The Dictionary of Art'', Vol. 18, ed. Jane Turner, (Macmillan Publishers, 1996), 207. Upon completion, he returned to Albania and was appointed drawing teacher in Elbasan, where he spent the next ten years. In 1936, he married and had one son, Julian, and by a second marriage had another son Gjovalinin, while continuing to paint and carry out the tasks of a teacher. Kolombi painted with materials such as cloth, canvas, cardboard and plywood, while most of his work is in oil, using more red, brown, green and white. Kolombi's work ''Columbus'' is in the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana. His portfolio consists of 50 paintings and drawings containing realist landscapes (''A Harvest'', 1947), still-life (''Grapes and Pears'', 1940) and portraits (''Julian'', 1946). These paintings were often executed ''en plein air'' which are distinguished with a balance of composition and a plethora of colours and tones. He suffered from asthma and tuberculosis in the last two years of his life and died on January 23, 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolombi, Zef 1907 births 1949 deaths 20th-century Albanian painters People from Shkodër People from Elbasan Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the Ottoman Empire